Magnet
by Aineshi
Summary: Remember one thing Rin: you must never tell anyone that Len is a Vocaloid. Tell everyone who asks that he is your brother, because if anyone were to find out about his true identity, they could use him for bad things... HIATUS until muse revives D;
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer-** I do not own the Vocaloids, unfortunately. -cries-

**Author's Note-** Hello, this is my very first Vocaloid fic, and I was inspired to write it after reading some other fics with the same general plot idea. Just my take on how the whole Rin getting Vocaloid Len should work out.

* * *

"He's yours now, Rin."

A nine year old girl stared with large, curious, turquoise eyes at the gigantic glass case before her. Inside was a young boy, probably around her age, who looked as if he was sleeping peacefully on white silk bedding, yet there was no rise or fall of the chest to indicate he was alive and breathing. It was a rather morbid sight, as if the container was a coffin, not a case. A heavy instruction booklet rested beside the boy, both safely protected by a number pad lock on the side of the case.

"What is he?" the girl held her bunny plushy close to her chest. The boy, whoever or whatever he was, looked an awful lot like her. At first glance, she could have sworn she was looking in a mirror. But there were some obvious differences: his face wasn't as round, but more angular, and his hair was a rather mussed-up darker blonde, tied up in a little, high ponytail.

"He is a Vocaloid," a man next to her marveled as he peered into the glass case, "His name is Len. Daddy took some of your pictures to the lab, and his scientists made him for you, even though it took six years. But don't worry, he's not a robot or anything. Len's body is human... well, mostly. He's got a heart, brain, liver, bones, muscle, and other stuff like that. I think he needs to eat, not sure about sleeping… or going to the bathroom… But anyways, he's got some extra stuff too that make him extra special."

"What kind of special stuff?" Rin stepped closer to her father and delicately grasped two of his fingers with all of hers.

"Well, for one, his brain is part computer, which makes him super smart. His muscles and bones are also genetically altered to be stronger than and superior to that of a regular human's, so he can protect and play with you when Daddy's not around. And, he's supposed to have an amazing voice, so he can sing you lullabies, like Mommy used to before she passed away. Quite astounding, actually… A human base enhanced through computers… a hybrid between the two most powerful forces in the world… the perfect fusion of technology and nature…"

Rin couldn't exactly understand what her father was saying, but continued to stare at the Vocaloid's face. Len, huh? "So… is he my brother?"

Mr. Kagamine blinked, then chuckled, "You could say that, yes. He's not related to you in any way, even though he's based off you. I guess he could be considered your adopted brother, then. Your mother always wanted you to have another sibling… Being left alone is an awful feeling, Rin…" his eyes held a far-off look.

"But you're not alone, Daddy," Rin pouted, "You have me! And I have you! And sometimes, Meiko and Kaito come over too!"

He smiled sadly, "Thank you, Rin. But you know Daddy has to work a lot, and can't be around all the time. Plus, Meiko and Kaito can't always come over, they have to go to school and stay with their families too. This is why I got you Len. But," he leaned down to her level and stared her straight in the eye, "Remember one thing Rin: you must never tell anyone that Len is a Vocaloid. If anyone asks, say he is your brother. Got it?"

Rin furrowed her brows, "Why not?"

"Because," he gently smoothed the puffy, white ribbon in her hair, "If anyone were to find out about Len, they may want to use him for bad things. Nobody knows that someone like him exists, or is capable of being created. Daddy had the scientists in his company make Len for you, and for Mommy, because she didn't want you to be alone. Now, let's go figure out how to activate him." He stepped over to the glass coffin, Rin in tow, and pressed the number pad lock on the side of the case. A beeping sound emanated as the lock flashed green. Rin watched her father gently let go of her hand and pop open the lid of the case, exposing the Vocaloid to open air.

"Let's see here," her father picked up the heavy book that lay beside Len. On it were the letters 'M-A-N-U-A-L', "Hmm… to activate, the user must donate a small sample of his or her blood to the Vocaloid. A drop or two should be sufficient to jump start the life-source generator. Begin by opening the Vocaloid's mouth. Next, deposit the sample and close its mouth. Allow a minute or two for the blood to engage the initial starting sequence. Finally, to "awaken" the Vocaloid, simply say the its name; note- the Vocaloid will accept and respond to only the designated owner's blood and voice. The designated owner cannot be changed, for his or her D.N.A. sample was integrated into the Vocaloid's brain during creation, so the Vocaloid will recognize only that owner's blood upon activation. Well… the instructions seem simple enough. Are you ready, Rin?"

Rin tugged at her white sundress and hid shyly behind her father's leg. She hadn't a clue what he just said.

"Don't be afraid," he smiled gently at her, "All you have to do is open Len's mouth, put some of your blood in, and then say his name. But we'll have to prick your finger to get the blood, and that might hurt a little." Rin jerked and stared wide eyed at the thought of pain, "It's okay, it's okay!" her father attempted to soothe the horrified girl, "Daddy will get you a band aid and kiss it after, okay? Then we can go get ice cream with Kaito and Meiko."

At the mention of the last event, Rin grinned and threw her arms up happily, "Ice cream, ice cream!"

Mr. Kagamine laughed, "Now hold still Rin…" He withdrew a pocket knife from his pants and gently took one of her tiny hands in his, "This may sting a little…" and quickly, but precisely, he nicked a small incision on her ring finger. Rin winced from the pain, and whimpered as her father gradually applied pressure, drawing out more blood. He then reached over to Len and opened his mouth, slightly surprised that his skin was so soft yet cold, and brought Rin's hand to hover over the opening. The blood, now swelled to a healthy size, clung lazily to Rin's finger before finally dripping into Len's mouth. Quickly, Rin's father closed Len's mouth again, and checked his watch.

"Now we wait one minute. Stay right here, Rin, Daddy will go get the rubbing alcohol and a band-aid for you, k?"

"K-Kay," Rin whimpered again, snuggling her bunny plushy closer with her other hand. Slowly, she walked closer to examine Len. His cheeks, which were an incredibly pale ivory, now turned a healthy, creamy peach, with a tiny bit of pink splayed across to indicate life and warmth. She could faintly feel his chest start to move up and down in an awkward rhythm, probably his first breaths. But why wasn't he awake? Oh yeah! Daddy said there was another thing they had to do. What was it? Say his name? Well, it wouldn't hurt to try…

Feeling more courageous, Rin sat on the floor beside the case. She reached out a hand to touch his face, surprised that it was actually warm and soft.

"Here goes nothing," she murmured.

"Len."

…

No response. Rin cocked her head to the side, "Did I do it wro-UWAH!" Rin yelped and fell backwards as Len's eyes suddenly fluttered open, revealing intense, vibrant cerulean irises. It was then that she noticed another difference. His eyes were narrower than hers, and held this intangible, mysterious quality to them, almost like an inherent sadness. Rin screamed again as he snapped upright, pupils dilating and adjusting to the light of the room. His ears perked. Her scream must have alerted him. Slowly, Len turned toward her, tilting his head curiously.

"Kagamine… Rin?"

He spoke! "H-How do you know my name?" Rin stuttered, slowly backing away from the newly awakened Vocaloid.

"Your identity is integrated in me. How could I not know my designated master? I am based off your image, after all," his eyes grew wide at her alarm, "Oh no, did I frighten you? I'm sorry! Please don't be afraid! I-"

The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted him as Rin's father came rushing into the room, clutching a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a cotton ball, and a band-aid with little oranges on it, "Rin! What's wrong? I heard you scream and…" he suddenly trailed off and stared wide-eyed at the newly activated Len, who was also observing him with curiosity, "R-Rin, you said his name?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Rin cried and hid behind her bunny, "I thought I was supposed to! Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no!" he shook his head vigorously, "You did great! Amazing… he actually works! I'll definitely have to give those scientists huge raises and paid vacations for this. Come on Rin, don't be shy, come and meet your new brother."

Mr. Kagamine smiled and reached into the case to help Len out, straightening his clothes which had wrinkled from lying in there for so long. Len wore a white sailor shirt, with a black collar, gold trimmings, and yellow tie. His shorts and leg and arm warmers were all black with gold trimming. And to finish the ensemble, Len wore a pair of clean, white sneakers. On the spot where Len had been lying was a cable.

"What's this for?" Mr. Kagamine inquired as he held up the mysterious wire.

"That would be my connector cable," Len surprised the older man with the sound of his voice, "You hook one end up to a computer, and the other to a small plug on my spine," Len raised his shirt a little to show an outlet on his lower back, "Then Miss Rin can download songs onto me, or whatever else information she wants to. I can also access the internet, hack into other programs, etc."

"I don't believe the latter part is necessary," Rin's father smiled, "What else can you do?"

"The manual has most of the information you need in it, but it's also programmed into my brain in case you'd rather ask me directly and not search through all those pages," Len grinned, "I'm capable of many things. Rudimentary functions such as cooking, self-defense, the Kagamine family information/history, and calculating have been programmed into me, in order to better help me serve Miss Rin. I'm also physically superior to other humans," Len trailed off and took a few steps back. Before the older man could inquire as to what he was doing, Len suddenly leapt and flipped clean over his head, before landing gracefully on the plush carpeting. The man's eyes widened. Incredible! This boy, who was no taller than your average nine year old, had managed to easily jump over a six foot tall man with only a few steps of running preparation.

"Wooow," Rin sighed, amazed, "That… was so cool!" she cheered and ran over to Len, with a bright grin on her face.

Len blinked with a curious face, seemingly entranced for a second, but then smiled back, "Thank you, Miss Rin. Anything that will make you happy." Rin blushed a little and covered her face with her bunny's ears.

"So what about your functions? Do you need to eat? Sleep? Use the bathroom?" Mr. Kagamine squatted on the floor in front of Len.

"Being that my body is still mostly human, I do need to eat in order to constantly refuel my cells," Len explained, "but I require a much higher amount of energy than regular people, so every bit of food is used up to maintain my functions. Therefore, I don't produce any waste. As for sleep, I can, but don't need to, since the energy I absorb from food allows me to stay awake 24/7; however, if I don't eat enough, I'll be deficient in fuel and thus just as prone to falling asleep as everyone else."

"Really? How much do you have to eat in a day?"

"About 15,000 calories."

Mr. Kagamine would have spit out his coffee had he been drinking any. 15,000?! Really?! That was almost eight times the amount of that of the average person! …Well, it did sort of make sense, since Len was an extraordinary being, who probably required quite a bit of energy to sustain, "Guess I'll have to go grocery shopping later," he grumbled, "Just how human are you? Do you feel emotions? Go through puberty? Suffer odd biological phenomena such as getting a sick, or having your voice crack?"

"As you should know," Len settled himself comfortably on the floor, "I was born synthetically from a D.N.A. sample of one of your scientists' sons, who passed away years ago. They cloned that D.N.A. to begin creating a human, but when I was still in my 'fetal' stage, they began altering me by synthesizing materials with my tissue. My bones, for instance, have some type of metal in them, that will prevent them from ever breaking and allow me to handle the stress and strain of manual labor much more efficiently and easier than your average human being. I have most of the same organs you do, like a brain, though it is half computer, lungs, and a heart. Some, like my spleen and bladder, were deemed unnecessary by the scientists and removed in order to make room for other things, like my life source generator. But I still feel regular emotions, though, in order to better connect with my surroundings. They left behind most of the organs responsible for hormone production; my reproductive organs, for example, are functional. The scientists said that I wouldn't be able to sympathize with or experience life as a regular boy if I didn't have that."

Mr. Kagamine began to cough profusely in order to interrupt his daughter from questioning what that meant. He also didn't really want to be hearing this from a nine year old, either, or at least a boy who looked nine.

"Well, that's enough questions for today," Mr. Kagamine stood dusted off his pants, "Aw, Rin, I forgot to bandage your finger. You got blood all over your bunny now."

"Eh?" Rin looked down, and sure enough, there were dark red splotches on her beloved stuffed animal's tummy. Tears started to well in her eyes, "Daddy, he's dirty! C-Can you clean him?"

"Of course I can," Mr. Kagamine gently took the bunny from his daughter, "Rin, why don't you take your new brother outside and get to know him? Tell him about the rules of the house and such, yeah? And while you guys go play, Daddy will clean Mr. Bunny here and then go grocery shopping to buy food for Len."

"Okay!" Rin beamed as she turned to Len and grabbed him by the arm, "Come on! We can go play on the hill."

Mr. Kagamine laughed and shook his head as he watched his daughter pull the poor boy a little too eagerly by the arm. He fumbled along, not yet used to walking, but could jump over a six foot man no problem. "Oh the wonders of modern technology," he sighed and headed toward the laundry room.

* * *

"So, you're like, part computer, huh?" Rin said as she started picking some red flowers.

"Yes. Well, mainly only part of my brain is. The other stuff inside of me doesn't function as a computer by itself, but goes with the one in my brain," Len replied, curiously watching Rin's every move.

They were laying on one of the hills beside the mansion. It was a rather isolated estate on the outskirts of town. The nearest people were a few miles away, and the town was a good few hours away worth of walking. But being alone had its perks, as Ren could run around freely on their acres of land without having to be suspicious of kidnappers, and with all the open land it was easy to spot if anyone was coming.

The estate was divided into three parts: the main complex, the recreational area, and the open land. The main complex was where the mansion was. It was a vast, highly modern building in terms of architectural design and décor, with way many more rooms than was necessary for one family of three. It had all of the state of art technology in terms of computers, media, and security, but Mr. Kagamine kept it relatively simple when it came to household luxuries like a dishwasher. They had them, but discouraged use of it because he didn't want Rin to grow up lazy and rely on buttons or just shout out her demands all her life, and expect them to magically appear before her. The recreational area was equipped with a formidable sized pool, half indoor and half outdoor, with waterfall, and a spa area, complete with pool house for lounging. There was also a basketball and tennis court, but was rarely used. The open land, in Rin's opinion, was the best. Vast stretches of fertile, green hills, with cherry blossom trees dotting the landscape here and there. Right now it was summer, and the cherry blossom trees, though they were not in bloom, were a light, playful green, and the grass was abloom with wild flowers, giving the impression that a rainbow carpet had draped itself across the land.

"You must know everything then," Rin raised one of the red flowers to her nose and inhaled the aroma, "Since you have a computer in your head."

"Not everything. Just whatever is programmed into me beforehand, and whatever I pick up along the way. My brain is still part human, so I can observe and learn like you, Miss Rin."

Rin frowned a little, "Don't call me that. Just call me Rin, okay? Daddy said you were my brother now, so it'd be weird if people heard you calling your sister "miss". Siblings don't do that."

"But it wouldn't be-"

"No buts!" Rin commanded, "I'm your master now! …I think, but I order you not to call me that!"

Len looked down, dejected, "Alright Mi-… Rin."

"That's better," Rin poked his cheek and giggled, then went back to picking the red flowers and arranging them in an intricate pattern.

"Mi-" Len started, but caught himself, "Err, Rin, might I ask what you are doing?"

Rin looked up from her weaving and grinned, "You'll see! Just wait a few more moments…"

Len leaned in closer to get a better look, but Rin hunched over her task, blocking it from view. "No peeking!"

Len frowned and slumped on the grass. Why couldn't she show him? Didn't she trust him?

"Finished!" Rin piped, snapping him from his thoughts. She beamed and proudly showed him her masterpiece: a crown meticulously woven from those bright red flowers she had picked earlier.

"It's beautiful," Len gasped, "What's it for?"

"It's for you, silly!"

"Me?"

"Yup! Now hold still," Rin scooted closer to the boy and gently placed it on his head, giggling as a petal fell from one of the flowers and landed on his nose, "You look so pretty, Len! Like a princess." Len blushed, not sure if he should feel insulted or grateful for that comment. Suddenly, Rin's eyes twinkled, an obvious indication that an idea had formulated in her mind. "Say, Len, would you like to play a game?"

"What kind of game?"

Rin stood and placed her hands on her hips, "Let's play pretend! I'll be the princess, and you can be my knight who saves me from the dragons and stuff!"

"But there aren't any dragons around, Miss Rin, how will I defeat them if-"

"Of course there aren't any, silly! And I told you to call me Rin, remember? Well, I guess for this game you could call me that. Or Lady Rin. Or even Princess Rin! Anyways, that's why it's called 'Pretend'. You pretend there's a dragon there, and then you pretend to vanquish it! Got it?"

Len frowned and tilted his head to one side curiously. How and why a person would want to find enjoyment out of imagining things that weren't there was beyond him, but he decided to play along anyways. "Alright," Len bowed on one knee, "You are my lady, and I am your servant."

Rin giggled giddily, "Yes, just like that!"

The two spent the rest of the afternoon chasing fairies, vanquishing dragons, and fighting wars. At first Len had stumbled along awkwardly, with no real idea of how to go about this "pretending" business, but after watching Rin pick up her skirt in a regal fashion and designate an elevated tree root as her "throne", Len started to get the hang of it. Rin was quite the demanding princess, asking Len to fetch her this, fight that, collect this, anything to test his physical fitness. Rin delighted in the amazing stunts his body was capable of. But Len didn't mind the exhaustive tasks his lady bestowed upon him. Seeing that sparkling smile on her face every time he returned "victorious" made an odd, contented emotion swell up within his chest. Was it pride? Happiness? He didn't really know, but all he knew was that it felt right, and he wanted to continue doing it.

Finally, at the end of the day, Rin decided to finish it off with a royal tea party. Len had run back into the house and grabbed some treats Rin's, or rather their, father had left on the counter for them. "Today's snack is brioche," he announced triumphantly as he offered the small piece of rich, buttery bread to his princess. Rin's eyes glittered as she fell back onto the grass with a laugh. She hadn't smiled this much in ages, and it felt really good to connect with someone more her age. Well, more or less.

"It's getting late, Lady Rin," Len propped his head up on one elbow and gazed curiously at his master. For some reason, there was always something about her appearance that intrigued him to no end. "The sun is starting to set. We should probably get back, it's probably dinner time."

"Hmm… I guess you're right," Rin mumbled. She sat up and smirked at Len. "Carry me back,"

Len blinked, but then smiled and bent down to offer his back to her, "As my Lady wishes."

Rin was mildly surprised that he didn't argue or whine about back aches like Daddy did, but leapt up giddily and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Now hold on tight," Len said as he carefully stood, hooking both of her legs on either side with each of his arms to ensure she was secured against him. Rin gasped at the ease with which he was carrying her, as if she weighed nothing but a feather to him. In reality, that's what it felt like for Len, also.

"Hey, Len," Rin rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Daddy said you had an amazing voice. Will you sing for me?"

"Sing?" Len tried to turn to look at her, "I don't have many songs in me right now, but what would you like to hear?"

"Anything," Rin yawned, "Something soft and smooth, like a lullaby."

"I know one. It's not really a lullaby, but without music the melody is actually really soothing. I think you'll like it. It's called Fortune Diver."

Rin closed her eyes as Len began singing. His voice was unlike anything she had heard before. It was light and airy, yet still had this smooth, echoing quality to it. By now the sun had already disappeared over the horizon, and stars were beginning to show up. Rin sighed and felt her body limp. The days events seemed to have really tired her out… not to mention Len's singing was so calming…

Before she knew it, Rin was already fast asleep, and snoring lightly on Len's shoulder.

* * *

**  
Review? **Please don't be too harsh, -fragile- Dx.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer-** Nope... still don't own Rin and Len. -cries more-

**Author's Note-** Thank you everyone for the reviews! They made me incredibly happy -hands out cookies- xD. Taking a moment to reply to some of them below, if anyone's interested. If not, then moving on! Another update for you guys, and so soon too. But I really like this story and where it's going. Enjoy!

**ThatFanFicGuy- **Yay first review! pleasedon'thurtme D8. I'm too fragile.

**Neko Alice-chan-** Tadaa! Wish granted xD. Thanks, hope you like this chapter too!

**CocoxLadybat- **Thanks for the review! Mini Len and Rin are cute, no :3?

**Inukage-Ama Terasu- **Lovely? You flatter me, hehe. Thanks for reviewing, please enjoy!

**OnigiRimi-** Your story was actually one of the ones that inspired me to write this! I am honored by your presence ;o; -more cookies-.

**Yui-tan- **Heheh, thank you! I was kind of apprehensive that it'd be too much like the other ones, or that Rin and Len would be too OOC, but I think this means I'm doing pretty okay xD.

**T****suki-chama-** Don't take my baby! ;o; -clings-, but thank you very much for the review!

**NejiIsMineXD-** Thanks for the review! Glad you caught them 8D. Enjoy!

**InkPup- **Thank you! But you flatter me -waves modestly- ;o;.

**DeadSpirit-** o noes! -mops up mess-.

* * *

Rin groaned groggily as she reached over to her right out of habit to shut off the alarm clock. Even if she had awoken before it went off, she still shut it off, which pretty much defeated the purpose of having one in the first place. But instead of coming in contact with cold plastic, she instead buried her hand in something soft and silky. Peeking an eye open, she saw that it was actually a mop of golden blonde hair, and a pair of equally vibrant, cerulean eyes were peering over her.

…

"KYAH!" Rin kicked the covers off her bed and backed up against the wall.

"Rin, Rin! What's wrong?" Len cried as he dodged the pillow flying at him.

"W-Who are you? DADDY! Why is there a strange little boy in the house?! And why does he sort of look like me?!"

An emotion akin to sadness befell Len's face, "You don't remember? It's me, Len…"

"…Len?" Oh yeah, Len! The events of yesterday suddenly rushed back to her. Wow, she must have really been tired to forget all that, "Oh, oh, Len! I'm sorry, I just woke up and didn't really recognize you for a second."

Rin stopped her flailing and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her, an indication for Len to sit with her on the mattress. He obediently followed her instruction.

"That's ok. Your dad left early for work today," Len said, "He said he won't be home until dinner, maybe even later, so don't wait up for him."

"Daddy always gets up early and comes home late," Rin sighed, "And he's our dad, now, not just mine."

"It's understandable," Len nodded, "Yo… I mean, our father is the C.E.O. of Mirror Corp., which is one of the most successful technological companies in the world. It takes a lot of work to run a business like that-"

A loud grumbling suddenly interrupted his speech. Len raised his eyebrows at Rin, who had a dark crimson blush adorning her face. She threw her hands over her stomach and looked away, scowling.

"Ooh, you must be hungry. You did miss dinner last night after falling asleep while I was carrying you back. Would you like some breakfast? I can make you something nice!"

"Really?" Rin blinked. Usually, she only ate cereal, since she wasn't old enough to go near the stove yet. Plus, Daddy didn't trust her cooking because the few times he did try to make or bake something with Rin, it ended in disaster.

"Yup! You just get ready, and I'll have it done by the time you come down."

She watched as the boy leapt off her bed and ran down the hall in direction of the stairs. Taking a few moments to herself, Rin yawned and plopped back down on the bed. Life certainly was going to be different now that she had a brother. On TV shows she had seen the girls complain about them being too overprotective, or too meddlesome. They always got into their sisters' stuffs, and messed around, ruining everything. Rin certainly hoped Len wouldn't be like that.

But so far he had been really nice. He had listened to everything she told him to do, and even offered to make her breakfast! None of the brothers on TV did that. Well, none of the brothers on TV were Vocaloids, either.

Rin let out a soft moan as she stretched her body like a cat, trying to shake the last remnants of sleep from them. Slowly, she got out of bed, reluctant to leave its warm comfort, and trudged to the bathroom.

* * *

An orchestra of scents wafted from the kitchen and dining room, filling the immediate area with tantalizing aromas of freshly cooked eggs, bacon, waffles, and potatoes. Rin blushed as her stomach let out another ferocious growl. Today she chose to wear a summery, yellow tank top with orange flowers and a pair of white shorts, not forgetting the puffy, white ribbon she always had in her hair.

"Len, what are you making?" she said as she poked her head into the kitchen.

The aforementioned boy whirled around and greeted his mistress with a grin, "Good morning Rin! I looked through some of your mom's old cook books and thought you might like these recipes!" he motioned towards three or four books splayed out across the counter. Rin climbed up on one of the stools to get a better look.

"Eggs Benedict," she recited, looking at the picture of perfectly poached eggs atop a slice of English muffin and bacon, drizzled with a yellowish looking sauce. The other books were flipped open to pages of country fried hash browns, chocolate chip waffles, and fresh fruit salad, "It all looks really good, Len! Do you need help with anything?"

"Nope, I'm pretty much just cleaning up here. The food's already on the table, so you can go and help yourself. Oh, and what would you like to drink?"

"Orange juice! Thanks Len!" she beamed and hopped towards the dining room, but the minute she set foot in her jaw dropped. Platters loaded with different assortments of foods were piled upon the table, arranged in such a way that Rin would have thought she was walking into a royal banquet or something, not breakfast for two. She cautiously took a seat near the end of the table, where a plate, napkin, and silverware had been laid out neatly for her. "Where do I even start..." Rin whispered breathlessly. She picked up the serving spoon on one of the platters and scooped some hash browns onto her plate, followed by one of the egg Benedicts, and another plate with a chocolate chip waffle on it.

The food was absolutely delicious! Nothing was overdone or undercooked, and all the flavors complemented each other so well. Rin felt like she was at one of those 5-star restaurants Daddy took her to sometimes, instead of at home having a little boy cook for her.

"Do you like it?" Len appeared with a glass of orange juice. She took the drink gratefully.

"Len, the food is delicious! But why did you make so much? It's only the two of us here, after all. And I don't think it'll still be good by the time daddy comes home."

"I did make enough for the both of us. Enough for you, and enough for me. I have to eat 7.5 times more than regular people, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Rin said and went to take another bite of her waffles. But she froze when she saw Len eat, the piece of waffle on her fork falling back onto the plate forgotten.

Len was wolfing down his food at an insane speed. In the time it took her to take five bites, he had already cleaned his plate, and was reaching for more. By and by her own breakfast grew cold, and she felt her appetite dissipate as she watched him devour those mounds of food without inhibition. And as he ate, he had this curiously amusing expression on his face, kind of like he was constipated. Rin stifled a giggle.

Len then noticed that she had been staring at him, "Why are you looking at me like that, Rin? Dad gave me that same look yesterday night at dinner, too."

The corners of Rin's mouth twitched upward in bemusement, "Your face looks so funny when you eat."

Len blushed, "Oh... I'm just enjoying the taste."

"Why?"

"Well, I've only been alive for a day now, so taste is a new experience for me. And this sense you guys have, it's amazing…" his eyes clouded into that dreamy, far-off look again as he took another bite of the chocolate chip waffles.

Rin's eyes began to glimmer mischievously, like yesterday when she suggested she and Len play pretend. "Hey, Len, how would you like to go and explore more about this new sense?"

He glanced up from his breakfast, "What do you mean?"

"Here, I'll show you!" Rin practically jumped over the table and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him off towards the kitchen.

"Wait! I haven't finished all my food yet! Riiiiiiin!"

* * *

"This is 'sweet'."

"Mmm," Len closed his eyes as the sugar granules dissolved on his tongue. Rin had pulled random things from the kitchen and was "educating" him on the wonders of taste.

"You like that huh?" Rin grinned and looked around for other things to try out on Len. A yellow citrus fruit caught her eye. "This," she said as she took a knife and sliced the lemon in half, "is 'sour'." She instructed Len to close his eyes again and open his mouth, which he did so obediently. She squeezed some of the juice onto his tongue.

Len made a choking sound, "AH! M-My face! My mouth! It feels so weird, it's like, contorting! R-Rin, I don't like sour!"

Rin burst out laughing, "Well that's pure sour! It's not bad, when mixed with other things!" She ran to the cabinet and got a glass. She then squeezed the rest of the lemon juice in, added a few spoonfuls of sugar, and filled the rest of the glass with water. "Here, try this!"

Len looked at her unsurely but took the glass nonetheless. His eyes widened at the taste, "Whoa! This _is_ good!"

"See?" Rin smirked smugly, "Everything has its own taste, but there are five main categories, at least in my opinion: salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter. You've already tried salty, sweet, and sour. I don't really know anything bitter, other than coffee, but Daddy's not around to make coffee so I guess we'll try that some other time. Say, Len, do you think you have a favorite food?"

The Vocaloid blinked, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone has a favorite food! Something they like to eat. Well you might be different, since you're part computer and whatnot, but maybe the human part of you likes something! Wanna try and find out what it is?"

"Sure," Len said, unaware of the danger saying 'yes' would pose.

"GREAT!" Rin grinned and began to dig through the fridge, "Hmm… how about mustard?" She brought the bottle over to him and giggled when his face scrunched up from the taste, "Okay, what about jam? Wasabi? Soy sauce? Tofu? Tomatoes? Lettuce? Spam? Relish? Chocolate syrup? Ham?" She took a little of each ingredient and mixed them into an odiferous, brownish-greenish-reddish concoction, then shoved the mixture into Len's mouth.

His brilliant, turquoise eyes threatened to bulge out of his sockets as he sprinted over to the trash can and began retching up the disgusting contents of Rin's creation, "W-WHAT WAS THAT?" He cried, traumatized by the taste.

"Nope, guess you don't like any of those," she looked around, "What about asparagus?"

She broke off a piece from a stalk and put it in his mouth.

His retching was her answer.

"Roquefort cheese?"

More retching.

"Artichoke?"

"Don't you have anything _not_ poisonous?!" Len cried, "And I think you're supposed to cook most of these things before you eat them!"

Rin rolled her eyes, "Oh fine, fine." She scanned the counter, looking for other things to feed the poor boy. A certain yellow fruit caught her eye. "What about banana?"

"Is it edible?"

"Oh, you," Rin smirked and pulled back the skin of the fruit, "Here."

Len stared at it.

"It's not going to hurt you!"

He continued to stare.

"Alright, alright, I'll test it," Rin took a bite of the pale fruit. She liked bananas too, but thought oranges tasted much better. Len studied her expression closely, and seeing no green tinge her face or unsavory emotion stain her visage, he gave in.

"Okay," he grumbled and took a small bite.

His eyes grew wide.

"…Len?"

What was this? This heavenly taste? This feeling?

"Len? Leeeeeeeen? Earth to Len?!"

"IT'S INCREDIBLE!" Rin jumped slightly when he finally spoke, "I've never felt like this before! Well, I've only been alive for a day, but still! Rin, these bananas are amazing! I have to have more!" He ran over to the fruit basket and started gobbling them down, one by one. Rin wasn't even sure he was chewing at the rate that boy was stuffing those fruits in his mouth.

"Slow down, Len, you'll choke yourself!"

"Buh Wrin, it tashtesh sho geewd!" he could barely speak with all that banana.

Well, at least she knew what his favorite food was. What to do now… Rin mentally went over the list of things they did. She found his favorite food, introduced him to sweet, salty, sour, bitter… well not so much, and…

"Spicy!" Rin perked up, "I never showed him what spicy was! But how to…" She suddenly remembered a certain pepper her father kept in the fridge. Habanero, she believed it was called. Mr. Kagamine had never let Rin try it because he said it was much too hot for her little taste buds to handle. But maybe Len could take it, since he was superior to everyone else and whatnot. She went and fetched the pepper.

"Leeen," she called, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "I've got something better than a banana!"

"Really?" Len blinked, "I can't imagine anything tastier than this!"

"Yup. Close your eyes and open wide!"

"…"

"Um, Len, can you swallow what's in your mouth first, though."

"Oh, right, right."

Once that was settled, she placed the pepper in his mouth and instructed him to chew. For the first two seconds he didn't react, but then…

"Ah-AH!" Len yelped and started frantically fanning his tongue, "Rin, Ri-AH! I don'-AH, like this taste! AH, IT HURTS, RIN!"

Rin could barely breathe through all the giggles and desperately clutched at her aching sides.

"R-Rin! This-AH, ISN'T FUNNY! Rin, please!" Len started to tear up, "RIN!" his tone was desperate and begging now.

"O-Okay," Rin tried her best to contain her laughter. His face was so red, and his reaction was the most priceless thing she had ever seen, "Hold on, hold on." She crawled over to the freezer as Len ran around in circles behind her, tongue out, and waving his arms about like a windmill. Rin grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers, "Len! Come here!"

He didn't seem to hear her, and continued to run around the kitchen wailing. "Len!" she ordered, but still he continued to jump around as if he was being chased by something. Rin rolled her eyes and opened the tub of vanilla ice cream she just got from the freezer. Guess she was going to have to do this the hard way. Her dad had told her a long time ago that the best thing to cool down your tongue after eating something spicy was ice cream, because the milk worked a lot better than water for some reason. She took a spoon from one of the drawers and scooped a healthy size lump of the frozen dairy treat before turning towards her target.

"Leeen!" Rin called as she ran after him. Wow, he really was fast. After about a minute of chasing in a circle after the hysterical boy, Rin got an idea. If she couldn't catch him by running after him, then maybe, if she faced the other way, then she'd catch him, right? He was running in a circle, after all.

And right on cue, Len came bolting around the corner, still flailing and yelling.

"GOTCHA!" Rin shouted as she leapt from her ambush spot and tackled him, pinning his arms to the floor with her knees.

"L-Let me go!" Len struggled and tried to push Rin off without hurting her, "I don't trust you!"

Rin rolled her eyes, "This'll help you! Now open up!"

Len's eyes grew wide as she thrust the spoon into his mouth. Suddenly, he felt the pain start to melt away, and his tongue was soothed by the cool, creamy, sweetness of vanilla.

"That's better," Rin smiled and reached over to scoop some more ice cream from the tub. This time, Len didn't resist as she fed him, until the pain had gone away completely. She ruffled his hair playfully. "Good boy! Feel better?"

Len nodded.

"That's good," Rin grinned, and crawled off of him. Suddenly, he ran to the corner of the kitchen and sat down, his back turned towards her. His shoulders were shivering slightly. Was he… was he sniffling?

"Len?" Rin furrowed her brows, "Len? What's wrong?"

"…"

"Are you mad? I'm sorry!"

"…"

"Len, did you hear me? I said I was sorry!

"…"

What was with this boy? "Why won't you look at me?" She reached out a hand and tugged his shoulder so that he would face her, but pulled back in shock. Len gazed at her with betrayal written all over his face. Two wet trails stained his cheeks. Rin immediately began to feel guilty for making him eat that pepper.

"You lied to me," Len's voice was barely above a whisper, "You hurt me, and then laughed at me."

Rin fidgeted nervously with her tank top. The guilt washed over her and stung deep. She hadn't meant to, really! She just wanted to have some fun. She didn't know the pepper would burn that much, but then again she had never tested it herself. "Len…"

"Go away!"

"…" Rin's face fell, but she stayed where she was, "Len, I'm sorry…"

Before he could protest, Rin bent down and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Her voice was muffled against his shoulder, "Pleasedon'tbemadatmeLen! I-I was just playing around, I never really meant to hurt you. H-Honestly. I promise I won't ever try to hurt you that way again, at least not on purpose. Okay? Sopleasedon'tbemadanymore!"

Len's scowl softened. He couldn't stay mad at her forever, and by the obviously distressed tone in her voice he was hurting her too. He sighed and hugged her back.

"It's fine."

Rin lifted her head to gaze at Len with bright, turquoise eyes, "R-Really? You're not mad anymore?"

Len chuckled slightly at her appearance. Her white ribbon was puffed up in such a way that they looked like giant rabbit ears, and that pouting expression on her face made it incredibly hard to disagree with her. "No, I'm not mad anymore." He offered her a grin to confirm his remark.

"YAY!" Rin threw her arms up happily, before glomping him again in an even bigger hug than before.

"I-" Len started, but was suddenly interrupted when Rin planted a kiss on his cheek. "What…?" he felt his face heat up and stared quizzically at her.

Rin simply smiled, "Whenever I get in a fight, Daddy always tells me to kiss and make up. Now you need to kiss me back." She pointed to her cheek and closed her eyes.

Len gulped, unsure of how to go about this. According to his databanks, a person just puckered their lips together, and… Len pulled away and felt the blush on his cheeks redden even more. That was such a weird feeling. His computer mind, despite its brilliancy, struggled to comprehend the strange mix of emotional signals it was receiving.

Rin giggled and pulled Len to his feet, "See? That wasn't so hard."

"I-I guess so," Len tried not to make eye contact with her, "We sure made a mess in the kitchen... Let's clean up before Dad gets home." He ended the sentence quickly and made a beeline for the cleaning supply closet.

Rin tilted her head curiously, "What's gotten into him?"

* * *

**Halloa!** Don't forget to review x3.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer-** Vocaloids are not mine :T.

**Author's Note-** Yay an update! I'm sitting here at like 5AM with a mug of tea cranking this thing out for you guys because I don't have any other time this week to work on it ToT. Please love me and review xD? Anyways, Meiko and Kaito finally make an appearance! And I was asked if this story would be about when Rin and Len are young, and the answer is yes and no hehe. It'll start out describing some of their interactions when they're 9 but then time skip to when they're 14 and so on to 16. **Warning: this chapter does contain mild swearing**, and I apologize if it offends anyone Dx. But other than that, hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

It had been a month since Len's awakening, and Rin was finally getting used to having him around. Mr. Kagamine had no problems assimilating Len into his life, and even took him out to the recreational area every Sunday to play some sports, although it didn't take Len long to get the hang of the game and best the older man. Rin would sit and cheer from the sidelines, faithful bunny plushy companion constantly in hand. After dinner, which Len often prepared excellently, the three would sit together and play games or watch movies until Rin fell asleep.

At first Rin had been a bit reluctant to share her father's attentions but soon found she could not be resentful towards Len; he was too good to her. He did all of her chores when she asked him to and never complained or told Mr. Kagamine, though Rin did feel guilty over time and lessened her requests. He also cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the family nearly every day, and was the best tea party guest Rin had ever had. Whenever she made him play with her, Len never seemed to mind and always made quite the engaging partner, even better than Meiko and Kaito put together. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy their time together, too.

Rin rested a cheek upon her hand as she watched Len vacuum from her position on the couch. He was humming a soothing tune and had the slightest ghost of a smile upon his lips. His hair was in its signature high little ponytail, and he wore the same clothes that he came with… which he had been for a month already.

"Len, did you come with just one set of clothes?" Rin inquired, not taking her eyes off his mundane task.

The boy stopped vacuuming and looked at her with a quizzical face, "Yes, just the outfit I'm wearing now. Why do you ask? Does it offend you, Rin?"

"No, no," she shook her head, "But I think you'll be needing some more, especially if you're going to be seen out in public."

Len blinked and tilted his head, "Why can't I just wear this?"

"Because it's not right," Rin remarked expertly, "Nobody wears the same pair of clothes every day, because that's gross! It gets stinky over time, and even if you wash it the colors start to get dull and they shrink. And if everyone just wore the same outfit then things would be boring, which is why we change it up! Like me!" Rin jumped down and twirled her own ensemble, which consisted of a yellow camisole, frilled white skirt, and wrist watch with the face in the shape of an orange.

"Ah," Len nodded in understanding, "I'll ask Dad tonight if I can order mo-"

"No!" Rin interrupted him, "You can't just order clothes online like that! What if they don't fit? Then it's a hassle trying to return it and everything. Going to the shops in town is much more fun." An idea struck the girl, "Say… let's ask Daddy if we can head into town right now and buy you stuff!"

"I don't think that's a goo-" But before he could finish his sentence, the peppy young girl had already skipped to the video phone and dialed her father's number.

"Hello, Rin?" Mr. Kagamine's face appeared on the flat screen that accompanied the phone. His voice sounded just as clear as if he was in the room, "Is everything okay? Where's Len?"

"Hi Daddy!" Rin grinned back at her father, "Everything's fine, Len's here beside me. I was just wondering if it'd be okay for me to take Len into town and go shopping? Please, please, please?? Len doesn't have any clothes, and he can't wear the same outfit all the time! Besides, he's kind of stinky right now."

An indignant, "_Hey_!" could be heard in the background.

"You two? Alone? No, something could happen. Why don't you wait for me to take you on Sunday?"

Rin whined, "But Sunday is so far away! And Len's stinky _now_!" another indignant "HEY!" was heard, "And he's a Vocaloid, remember? He can protect me."

Mr. Kagamine paused and then sighed, "…Alright Rin, but on one condition: you must go with Kaito and Meiko. It's better in a larger group. I'll call now and see if you can meet them. If not, then you and Len will wait until Sunday. Understood?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Rin beamed. After a few words and goodbyes, Rin returned to her seat beside Len, "Len, guess what? Daddy said yes, but we have to go with Meiko and Kaito. They're my two best friends in the whole world, and I hope you like them too! They're older than us, both are 11, but they're nice. Well, mostly Kaito. He really, really, REALLY likes ice cream, and the color blue. Meiko is nice too, sometimes, when you don't get on her nerves. She likes the color red."

"I do not stink," Len huffed, "I shower every day, and I just washed these clothes last weekend!"

It took Rin a moment to remember what he was talking about, "Oh, you. Your clothes still get dirty even if you're not, and wearing dirty clothes after you shower defeats the purpose, loser! Now let's go put all this vacuuming stuff away before Meiko and Kaito get here."

"But I haven't finis-" Len never got to complete his sentence, which was pretty often, as Rin dragged him off by the wrist.

* * *

"RIIIINN!!!"

"Meiko! Kaito!" Rin squealed in glee and practically flew down the stairs, throwing her arms around their waists, or as much as her small arm span could reach. The two contrasting eleven year olds laughed and petted the younger girl on her head. Rin looked down and saw a plastic bag in Kaito's hand, "Ooh, is that a gift for us?"

Kaito blinked, "Eh? Oh! When your dad called he told me to bring over some old clothes that I didn't fit anymore, for your… brother?"

"Oh yeah," Meiko put a finger to her mouth, "Rin, you never told us you had a brother."

"I… didn't really know I had one either! Heh… heh…" Rin felt the little hairs on her neck prick. What was she supposed to tell them? She hadn't thought this far! "He… was sick! Yeah, when he was born his health wasn't so good, so Daddy sent him away to live with my, err, aunt, yeaah… But now he's come back, and we're a happy family again! Eh heh heh…"

Kaito and Meiko raised their brows but didn't press any further.

"Alright," Meiko poked her head around the corner, "So where is he?"

Rin wove her fingers together nervously and called tentatively down the hall, "Len, come on out and meet Kaito and Meiko."

At first, there was no response, but some light shuffling indicated his arrival. Len stepped ever so slowly into their line of sight and bowed respectfully to the two older children, "Pleased to meet you. I am Kagamine Len."

For a few moments, nobody said anything. Kaito and Meiko stared, mouths slightly agape, somewhat incredulous that Len really did exist. Rin's fidgeting intensified and she began wringing the edge of her skirt. Did they notice he was different? Was there like a barcode on him somewhere that she hadn't seen earlier? She glanced at Len, who seemed ordinary to her. His demeanor was polite and friendly.

"Wow," Kaito finally interrupted the awkward silence, much to Rin's relief, "He's… a lot smaller than I expected."

Rin felt the sudden urge to smack her palm against her forehead. That was what she had been waiting so anxiously to hear? She rolled her eyes.

"You're rather cute," Meiko smirked and flicked Len's little ponytail, which shocked the boy.

"Thank you?" Len glanced confusedly at Rin.

"You're very welcome," Meiko paused for a second, "…Kaito, why don't you take Len and try on some of those clothes? Then we can head to town."

"Why can't he wear what he's wearin-" Kaito suddenly stopped as the stale odor of unwashed clothing reached his nostrils. He winced and resisted the urge to plug his nose at Len, "Come on, kid, let's go get you changed."

* * *

"Alright, he's ready!"

"What the?" Meiko blinked, "That's all that would fit him?"

"Pretty much," Kaito frowned, "All my shirts seem to be a little too stretched out for him, heh."

Rin desperately struggled in vain to stifle a giggle at Len's appearance. The shirt was far too large for Len's slender body type and hung awkwardly like a sheet on a hangar. The collar, which was too wide, continuously slipped and exposed one of the boy's pale shoulders, much to Len's frustration. After ten minutes of constant tugging at the worn fabric, Len gave in and let it wear loosely about his bare shoulder. He looked inexplicably… what was the word? Shota? Yes, he looked _very_ shota. Rin giggled again.

The other clothes Kaito bought fit rather well on Len, albeit a bit baggy. But it would do, for now. Meiko looked the boy up and down, with his oversized, yellow long-sleeve and black basketball shorts and nodded in approval.

"You're going to get people thrown in jail," she remarked. Kaito suddenly started coughing profusely.

Len cocked his head, "What does that mean?"

"Nothing!" Meiko grinned, "Now let's get going!" She tugged Kaito by his blue scarf, effectively choking the boy, and led him out the door. Rin smiled at Len and gently took his hand before following the two older children down the path and away from the Kagamine estate.

* * *

"Here we are!" Kaito and Meiko threw their arms up at the scene before them. Len felt his jaw drop a little. He knew what markets and towns were, it was part of his basic knowledge, but seeing them live in person was a whole other experience. Brightly colored boutiques and booths lined the streets, and there were people bustling about shouting prices, bargains, or other random conversation. It was a drastic change from the pleasant quietness at home.

"Where should we go first?" Rin still held onto Len's hand, which was unnecessary yet oddly comforting, "Are we just going to look outdoors first or head into a store?"

"That was a pretty long walk," Kaito tapped his chin, "I say we go refresh ourselves with ice cream fir-OOF!"

Meiko elbowed him in the stomach, "Let's go to a store, that way Len can try on the clothes."

"Sounds good!" Together they walked toward the nearest boutique, although Kaito was still clawing at the ice cream shop down the street, but was quickly silenced by a firm tug of the scarf courtesy of Meiko.

The store was a simple one but carried quite a variety of the season's latest styles. It generally catered to younger girls, but there was a section towards the back for males too. The shop owner smiled politely and nodded a greeting to the children.

"How about this?" Meiko held up a white screen tee. There was an abstract, urbane design on the front consisting of a city skyline and multicolored arrows.

"It looks ok," Len shrugged. Truth be told, the scientists never really programmed him to have a fashion sense. Everything seemed fine to him.

"I still don't understand why we couldn't stop by for five minutes to get ice cream," Kaito whimpered and plopped into one of the store's leather chairs.

"We'll get some after," Rin reassured him, "How about these pants, Len?" She held up a pair of dark gray jeans, almost black.

"They're alright."

Meiko sighed, "Well you just sit next to Kaito and we'll pick out some clothes for you." Len nodded and took the chair adjacent to Kaito's. Between them was a small table with car magazines and various testosterone themed reading material, probably for the bored guys who were dragged here by their mothers or girlfriends. Len glanced up at the girls but noticed they had already disappeared into a whirlwind of shopping frenzy, piling item after item onto their arms and sorting through the racks with frightening speed.

"So how long have you been living with the Kagamines?"

Len turned his attention to the blue haired boy, who was smiling at him curiously, "Oh, I've been with them for about a month already."

"I see, I see."

An awkward silence engulfed the two.

"How do you guys all know each other?" Len tried his hand at starting a conversation.

"Rin didn't tell you?" Kaito frowned, "Ah well, that's ok. Meiko and I are next door neighbors. Our parents are family friends with your guys' dad. I've known Meiko ever since we were babies, but we met Rin at a party when she was 5."

"Here Len!" the boy suddenly found two giant mountains of clothes thrust onto him, "Try these on!"

"What the," Kaito's dark blue eyes widened in disbelief, "You guys pretty much cleaned out the entire section!"

"Come on," Meiko and Rin pulled Len to his feet and shoved him in the direction of the fitting rooms, "We've only got a few hours and 5 more stores to cover! No time to waste!"

"Hey wait for me!" Kaito called and hurried after them.

At first Len had matched the shirts and pants awkwardly, much to Rin and Meiko's chagrin, but got the hang of it after analyzing the colors and their compatibilities with the computer part of his brain. Outfit after outfit they cooed at his appearance and piled the favorable articles onto Kaito, who struggled to balance the quickly growing tower of clothes.

"You really insist on buying all these?" he panted after they left the fitting rooms. Len walked beside him blushing since the girls had decided to shower him with "aww!"s and hugs. They also called him a shota. What did that mean?

"Why not?" Rin skipped towards the register and motioned Kaito to bring the clothes, "Len needs them. He's got nothing else to wear, and who knows when Daddy will let us go into town next?"

The clerk was a bit skeptical that four children, no older than 9 or 11, were going to buy all that clothing, but served them anyways. Rin didn't blink twice at the sum and handed the lady a credit card. Rin knew her father had quite a fortune, but she never really took this advantage for granted. She had been taught not to rely on money and not to spend for her own selfish gain, but only when necessary, and today, buying all those clothes for Len was absolutely necessary.

Well, kind of.

After completing the transaction, the girls dragged their respective boys into the next store, and then the next, and the one after that. It didn't take Len long to understand why the boys on TV always groaned when the girls mentioned shopping. They did stop for ice cream though, when Kaito's whining became unbearable.

"Mmm," Kaito closed his eyes and savored the blissful, creamy taste.

"Stop, you're embarrassing us," Meiko kicked his foot with hers.

"Ow!" the blue haired boy pouted, "You don't have to be so mean."

Meiko pretended to scoff but a small smile graced her lips. Rin giggled at the scene and finished the last of her orange sorbet. A sudden gust of wind caught her by surprise and blew her white sunhat away.

"I'll get it!" Len said and followed the hat, which was rolling away quite quickly. Every time he reached out towards it, another gust of wind would push it further and further away, until it found its way into a secluded alleyway where the wind could no longer reach it, "Gotcha!" Len picked up hat and frowned. It became dirty from rolling in the street, not to mention it kinda smelled weird for soaking in the grimy alley floor.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a deep, scratchy voice whispered hoarsely.

"He's a cutie, eh?" another voice sniggered.

Len jumped when he felt a rough finger trace his exposed shoulder from behind. Turquoise eyes narrowed. This did not look too good… he had to get out of here. As Len turned to run, he found himself face to face with a large, burly shadow. It stunk and smelled wretchedly of rotten garbage. The shadow smiled, revealing two rows of shiny, yellow teeth through a grizzly, black beard.

"Going somewhere?" It growled and grabbed him by the upper arms before throwing him roughly against a wall. Len groaned slightly from the impact. The shadow and several others, probably two or three equally as hulking individuals, whooped in pleasure, "He's got a nice voice," they licked their lips, "Let's see if we can make him make other sounds…"

"Len?" a soft voice echoed off the walls of the alley.

They all turned their attention to the alley's opening, where three young children stood. In the center was a familiar blonde haired, cerulean eyed girl. Behind her were two older kids, a boy with blue hair and a girl with reddish brown locks.

"Rin…" Len's eyes widened, "No, get out of here! All of you!"

"What do you-AHH!" Rin shrieked as one of the men had snuck behind her from the shadows and twisted one of her arms behind her back.

"HEY!" Meiko yelled and stepped forward to defend her friend, but was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown at a row of aluminum trash cans. She moaned in pain. Another man revealed himself.

"We don't really have much use for girls," he snarled, "You pains in the ass are too mess-OOF!" he grunted as Kaito rushed toward the perpetrator, using every force of his strength to punch him in the stomach.

"How dare you hurt Meiko!" Kaito hollered and continued to pummel the bear of a man, but his small, 11 year old muscles had almost no effect.

"Another cute boy," he leered and pulled Kaito closer, "We'll have much fun with you and your friend over there." He motioned towards Len, who was watching the whole thing play out with an unreadable expression on his face. Kaito paled and shivered when a clammy hand reached out to caress his cheek.

"Get rid of the girls," the one holding Len commanded. Kaito and Len's eyes widened.

The last man nodded and stepped forward to yank Meiko to her feet, twisting her arm around her back as well. She cried out in pain but he slapped her across the face. Rin struggled against her captor, but that earned her a slap as well. Then, the men went into their pockets and drew out two rusty switchblades and placed them at the girls' throats. Rin felt hot tears sting at her eyes.

"Say goodnight bitc-"

A bloodcurdling scream suddenly interrupted his speech. The thugs whipped their heads around to see the one who was holding Len double over the floor. Len stood above him, bangs shadowing his face.

"Don't you dare touch Rin," he snarled and dragged the man up to deliver a clean blow to the head, effectively knocking him unconscious. He slumped backwards with a bit of blood dripping from his mouth and right temple. Then, Len turned his attention to his next victim: the one holding Rin.

"S-Stay back," the man stuttered and pressed the knife closer to her pale throat, "O-Or I'll kill her! I swear!"

Len narrowed his eyes, "I told you not to touch her."

He rushed forward and leapt into the air before landing a kick to the man's face. The thug screamed in pain and let go of Rin to grip at the bloody lump that was his nose. Len, however, had no mercy, and picked up a trash can lid and threw it at the man's stomach, knocking him into the wall behind them. A spurt of blood escaped his lips. Rin watched Len deliver his vengeance upon the man, and subsequently to the ones holding Kaito and Meiko. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. How could Len, the boy who was so gentle and so kind, be capable of such ferocious punishment? Both of the remaining men had dropped their victims a while ago and were sprinting in the opposite direction, but Len refused to spare them.

"K-Kaito," Meiko shivered and buried her face in the blue haired boy's chest, unable to bear the sight any longer.

He wrapped his arms comfortingly about her, "Shh, it's okay," Kaito whispered in her ear. Truth be told, tears were also forming in his azure orbs. They had never been in a situation like this, and it was too much for their young selves to handle.

Rin looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Len had just returned from finishing off the remaining two, but Rin could barely recognize him. His turquoise eyes were narrowed dangerously, almost threateningly, and his face held a solemn sort of contempt about it. Blood splatters stained his shirt and skin.

"L-Len," Rin breathed, feeling her lip quiver. He glanced at her arm, which now sported evidence of a nasty bruise forming.

"I'm sorry," his emotionless voice surprised her, "I'm sorry, Rin, Meiko, Kaito. I put you all in danger. It's all my fault… I couldn't save you from getting hurt."

"No… Len, don't say that," Rin cried and ran into his arms, allowing the sobs to rack her body. Len flinched, but gradually his face softened and he held her protectively against him. What were they going to do now?

A passerby heard the children's sobbing and was greeted by the sight of four men sprawled out in bloody heaps on the floor of the alley. Rin, Len, Kaito, and Meiko were all huddled against each other, unsure of what to do next. The police and paramedics promptly arrived on the scene and tended to the children. The notion that Len had single handedly taken down all four of the thugs was unbelievable to them, but finding no other explanation recorded it anyways. After the paramedics patched up their wounds and the men were taken into custody, the officers asked questions regarding where the kids came from, what exactly happened, who their relatives were, etc, before contacting each of their parents to come get them. Mr. Kagamine sounded like he was about to have a heart attack. Rin suspected they would not be allowed out of the house for quite some time. At least not without 10 bodyguards.

"Here," a lady held out four blankets, "You guys look cold."

"T-Thank you," they gratefully accepted the cloths. They sat in one of the ambulances watching the police officers shout orders to each other and conduct their investigation of the crime scene. Luckily for them the ice cream shop owner had noticed they left their things unattended and held it for them, and one of the police officers was nice enough to go get it for them. But Rin didn't care about the clothes right now. She just wanted to go home, take a very hot shower, and crawl into bed.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to meet face to face with Meiko.

"Rin," the older girl's tone was uncomfortably serious, "What was that weird thing on Len's back?"

She froze. Had Meiko seen the plug on Len's spine? No… how could she? Rin's mind flashed back to the part where Len jumped in the air and his shirt flew up in the back. That must have been when.

"I-It's, err…" but before Rin could make up an excuse, Meiko had reached over to the unsuspecting boy and lifted up the back of his shirt. Kaito gasped as he too saw the small, circular opening. It was surrounded by a ring of metal.

"Len isn't normal, is he," Meiko's eyes narrowed.

"H-He…"

"Don't lie to us Rin," Kaito gazed intently at her, "We're your friends…"

Rin started fidgeting again. Should she really…?

"Len…" Rin's voice was barely audible. "Isn't really my brother…"

"Rin!" Len's eyes widened, "Don-"

"He's a Vocaloid."

"A what?" Kaito and Meiko furrowed their brows.

"My Mom always wanted me to have a sibling," Rin began, smiling sadly, "so that I wouldn't grow up alone… but she died when I was three, and so to honor her last wish my Dad decided to create a brother for me. He brought some of my pictures into Mirror Corp.'s labs and asked the scientists to create Len, which they did by taking some D.N.A. from one of the scientist's late sons and changed it so that Len would look like me and stuff. They also altered his body with computers and technology so that he would be better than regular people and able to protect and take care of me. That explains how he could take down those thugs so easily. The thing you saw on Len's back is a plug that I can use to connect him to a computer."

"He's a robot?" Kaito whispered.

Rin shook her head, "No. His body is still human."

"I see…"

Len lowered his eyes. They probably thought he was a freak now. Rin's heart fell and rested a hand on his reassuringly.

"Why do you guys look so sad?" Kaito piped, "We said we wouldn't treat you any differently."

Both of the Kagamines looked up. Really? Did they mean it?

"Besides," Meiko smiled, "We owe you our lives, Len. If you hadn't been what you are we wouldn't be alive right now. And personally, I think that the fact that you're 'genetically altered' or whatever is super cool."

"Yup," Kaito nodded his head in agreement, "It's not every day you can say 'Oh yeah. I just took down 4 thugs by myself.'" He puffed out his chest in an attempt to look macho.

The children threw their heads back and laughed, a much needed comedic relief after the stress of recent events. Rin was grateful that they didn't react horribly to Len's being a Vocaloid, and she felt kind of guilty for underestimating her friends' devotion. Meiko and Kaito cared and would accept them no matter what. But Rin decided she would keep telling people Len was her brother no matter what, because who knows if the rest of the world would be as forgiving as they were…

* * *

**Quite** different from last chapter Dx. And excuse any mistakes, usually I go over these things like 5 times but I'm too tired to right now. Nyehe. Review, review! And I will love you long time :3.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer-** Well since I'm tired of writing these let this be the final disclaimer for all chapters: I DON'T OWN TEH VOCALOIDS kbai.  
**  
Author's Note-** School is starting soon. Nooo Dx. Another update while I can. Gakupo, Luka (kinda not really lul), and Leon make appearances! Enjoy! -cries-.  


* * *

It had been two weeks since the incident, and Rin hadn't moved an inch from her position.

…Except to lift her finger and change the channel every now and then.

Ever since the day they were attacked, Rin and Len had been grounded and the house was put on lockdown. News spread like wildfire about the sudden appearance of "Len Kagamine: CEO Kagamine's secret 'super' son". For days, every news station broadcasted Len's photo, which was snapped secretly by some passerbys, and raised speculation over his identity. Was he an illegitimate son Mr. Kagamine had locked away to avoid public humiliation? Was Mr. Kagamine using him for drug and steroid testing, which would explain how he defeated those thugs? What about Rin? Day after day the media flooded their phone lines and showed up at the gates of the Kagamine estate trying to gather any bits of information they could and snap some photos of Len. One had been daring enough to trespass and sneak into the house, frightening Rin. Luckily, it was a Sunday, and Mr. Kagamine had been home and thus able to call the police to arrest the man before he could gather any information, much less see Len.

Mr. Kagamine decided that was the last straw. The next day he arranged to have a press conference where he announced that Len was indeed his son. Len, he explained, had been born with very ill health and was sent to live with a family friend; only a few months ago was Len finally recovered from his mysterious affliction and able to be reunited with his family. The media, though, was still unsatisfied. Who was this family friend? And how did Len defeat those four, burly men if he was supposed to be of weak constitution? But the CEO of Mirror Corp. refused all questions and left it at that.

After the press conference, Mr. Kagamine blocked all channels that broadcasted the news and cut off all phone lines to the estate. Rin and Len were no longer allowed to go outside or even near a window. The only communication they were allowed was a single phone line connecting them to Mr. Kagamine's cell phone in case of emergency. In a sense, the two were now isolated. Thus Rin had been left with little to do except watch TV. And that is exactly what she had been doing for ten days now. The only time she got up was to use the bathroom or eat, but other than that she would just sit and watch movies or random shows until she fell asleep, and then Len would have to carry her to her room.

"Rin," Len sighed exasperatedly, "you've been sitting in front of the TV for days now. Please get up and do something else?"

"Nngh," was the reply.

Len furrowed his brows in concern, "Maybe go read a book?"

"Nngh."

"Clean up your room?"

"Nngh!!"

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Len threw his hands up in defense and sighed, "Err… take a walk around the house?"

"Ugh, what's the point!" Rin sprawled herself out over the couch, "It's not like me wandering aimlessly around the house will be productive either." Len pouted. Rin sighed. "Okay I'll go… check my e-mail, or something."

Len sweatdropped. Well, at least it wasn't watching TV…

* * *

"The media don't seem to be letting down, do they?"

A man who looked no older than 23 flicked his silky, lavender hair from his face and flipped through a rather sketchy looking magazine. On its cover were two familiar, turquoise-eyed children. Across from him sat the CEO of Mirror Corp.

"No they don't, Professor Gakupo," Mr. Kagamine folded his hands in front of his face, "All these phone calls tie up our lines and we haven't been able to keep in touch with any of our clients. I'm surprised Luka hasn't quit her job as secretary yet. And that damn press conference only made things worse! Now they've even taken to waiting in the parking lot and crowding me as I try to drive away! I've given them their answers, what more could they want?"

Professor Gakupo smirked. He had been hired at Mirror Corp. at the mere, tender age of 16 but was armed with a full college education and graduate's degree. He was a prodigy, who, despite his young age, rose quickly to the highest researching position in the company and became one of Mr. Kagamine's most trusted acquaintances.

"Well it's not every day you find out some nine year old took down 4 armed grown men," Gakupo remarked smartly, "And then to find out that that nine year old was only a few months earlier supposed to be sick and bedridden seems awfully fishy. The public is hungry for answers, Mr. Kagamine, and the media's job is to satiate said curiosity, even if it means whipping some garbage together and spray-painting it with colorful adjectives." The scientist threw the magazine onto his boss's desk, which contained the headline "Len Kagamine: Actually a 37 Year Old Champion Midget Kick Boxer Hired to Pose as Rin Kagamine's Brother/Bodyguard? Close Family Friend Tells All!"

"You'd think they'd be sick of it by now," Mr. Kagamine grumbled and threw the magazine into his wastebin.

"I believe it'll only get worse," Gakupo grimaced, "Results came back from the medical examiner at the prison. Apparently Len was brutal. One of the men experienced severe internal bleeding and several organ ruptures from having that trash can lid thrown at him so hard. Two had several bone fractures that will take months and many surgeries to recover from; doctors said it'll be a miracle if they could throw again. The last one might have permanent head trauma and is now blind in one eye. The men said that when they recover they're going to file a lawsuit against you. With our lawyers the case should be a piece of cake; however, this definitely won't look good for you, Mr. Kagamine. Nor will it help the media situation die down."

All the older man could do was groan.

"Amazing how such a small thing can stir up so much controversy."

The men looked up at the sudden interruption. In the doorway of the office stood a man dressed in the same lab attire as Gakupo but with a much different appearance. His hair was a darkened, sandy blonde that was slicked back into a solid conglomerate of dried gel. His face and manner of air was impeccable, almost to a frightening extent. There was no sign of any stray, unshaved hair on his smooth, waxy skin, except for two perfectly angled eyebrows that accentuated a pair of dark, brown eyes. The right part of his lip was twitched upward in such a way that suggested mischief looming in his intentions.

"Ah, Professor Leon, can I help you?" Mr. Kagamine motioned for the man to take a seat.

Leon continued to stay where he was, "I was just wondering if you could send Len back for a quick check-up. You know, to see if he was damaged in that nasty little skirmish."

Gakupo narrowed his eyes. Six years ago, he and Leon were put in charge of Len's creation. At first it had only been Gakupo acting as director, but when it was revealed that the DNA was to be extracted from Leon's late son, the lower scientist took an avid role in the project, so avid that it became almost, if not already, obsessive. He pored over the project day and night, studying and refining every detail, living only on coffee and four hours of sleep. Gakupo understood why the man would take such an interest to Len, since it was from his son's DNA that Len was made. Gakupo had a feeling that to Leon, this project was like giving his son a second chance to live, yet Leon had yet to realize that the end product was _not_ Leon's son.

"Len?" Mr. Kagamine frowned, "He didn't seem hurt at all. Not even a scratch."

"Perhaps he might have some internal damage," Leon persisted, "A part slipping out of place?"

"We created Len to be much stronger than that," Gakupo responded with a detached tone, "A simple push into a brick wall wouldn't have hurt him."

Leon's lips set in a firm line, "I apologize for being concerned, Professor Gakupo."

Mr. Kagamine sensed the quickly tensening mood, "It's fine, Professor Leon. Len hasn't seemed out of place to me. If anything does happen though I'll make sure to bring him immediately back."

"Hn," Leon grunted his response, "I see. I apologize for having taken up your time. Please continue whatever it is you were discussing." He gave a respectful bow to which Mr. Kagamine acknowledged with a nod. Gakupo refused to express any words or signs of parting. Leon closed the door quietly behind him as he exited the office and headed back to the lab.

"I don't trust him," Gakupo said after he was sure the other scientist was out of earshot.

"What do you mean? Professor Leon has been at this company for 22 years and I've had no problems with him so far."

"I don't know… Something about the way he carries himself… and his eyebrows…"

Mr. Kagamine chuckled, "Come now, Gakupo. All this work is getting to your head. Professor Leon is a decent man, and I think he did raise some good points. Do you think we should run a quick check-up on Len? Just to make sure?"

"I don't believe it's necessary," the lavender haired scientist snorted, "But if you want to."

"Alright, alright," the CEO of Mirror Corp. smirked, "You're dismissed."  


* * *

Rin blinked when a pop-up on the side of her screen alerted her to the arrival of two new e-mail messages. At first it had said two, but when she opened her inbox there was only one. She furrowed her brow in wonder. Who could it be from? Meiko and Kaito were both grounded, so they couldn't have possibly sent her an e-mail... Her surprise grew when she saw it was from Mirror Corp.

"Daddy's company...?" Rin clicked the message and noticed an attachment.

"_Hello Rin,_

_Some questions were raised about Len's condition and any damage he could have sustained from that nasty incident two weeks ago, so we're sending you a program that will run a check on him and report if anything is wrong. All you have to do is plug Len into the computer with the cable he came with and download the file directly onto him. Don't worry, if it sounds confusing ask Len to do it. He'll understand._

_Best Wishes_."

Rin tilted her head to the side. There didn't seem anything wrong with Len... but oh well, it was better to be safe than sorry. "Len!" the girl shouted down the hall. He was probably downstairs and at the other end of the house, way out of earshot for the normal human ear. But no matter where he was, Len always seemed to be able to hear when Rin needed him, and within seconds he would be at her side, "Len, come here I need to show you something!"

"Yes?" the aforementioned boy arrived only ten seconds after she called.

"Look here!" she pointed to the screen, "Read the message while I go get your cable."

Len looked confused but obeyed nonetheless. A patch, huh? He suddenly felt a rush of cool air over his backside as Rin lifted up the back of his shirt. "H-Hey!"

"Hold still," Rin stuck her tongue out the corner of her lips, "I'm plugging you in."

Len winced at the strange sensation when the plug entered his spine and the rush of electric signals flowed back and forth between him and Rin's computer.

"Okay Len, I'm not sure how to do this, and the letter said you would know how."

The boy nodded, "Once hooked up I can access your computer remotely." He demonstrated said feature by moving the cursor around the screen without even touching the mouse.

"Woaah," Rin's eyes widened in wonder. Len smiled and turned back to the message. He ran one last check over the attachment and e-mail address to make sure it was safe and truly from Mirror Corp. Yup, everything seemed alright.

"Download commencing," Len stated. A popup box appeared on Rin's screen alerting her of the file's progress. 25% complete… 50%... 75%...

Suddenly, Len felt a pang shoot up his spine and into his brain. "Aah…" He sank to the floor and clutched at his head.

_80%_

"Len?" Rin hopped off her chair and kneeled behind him in worry, "Len are you alright?"

_85%_

Another pain ripped through his spine, but this time it was far more intense than before and permeated him down through his toes. Len cried out in agony.

"I-It hurts, Rin… AHH!" He jerked as another nasty jolt assaulted his senses.

_87%_

Rin bit her lip. Was it supposed to hurt like this? She rubbed a reassuring hand across his back. "Len…?"

She gasped when he let out another scream, this one exponentially more intense than the last. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead and he was doubled over in pain, "R-Rin! Take the cable ou-AAHH! T-This isn't a p-AAHH."

_89%_

"W-What?!" Rin's face paled. Why was it hurting him so much? Something was wrong here… Horribly wrong. She ran to the computer and tried to find the cancel button, but to her horror there was none.

Len seemed to sense her worry, "T-The cabl-AHH!"

_90%_

The what? The cable? Rin glanced at the wire connecting him to the computer. He wanted her to disconnect him? Was that even safe? Her dad had told her never to disconnect things while they were downloading or it would mess up the system…

_95%_

Len let out another bloodcurdling scream that silenced all her doubt. She had to do it!

Rin gripped the cable with one hand and placed the other one on Len's back for balance. He was panting heavily now, and his skin had paled to a sickly, ashy hue. Rin tugged at the cable, but for some reason it wouldn't budge.

"W-What…? What's going on here?!"

She yanked again, but it was only met with another strangled cry from her Vocaloid. No! This couldn't be happening! Rin felt worried tears prick at her eyes as she wrestled with the wire again.

_97%_

The computer! That was it! If she could shut off the computer, the download would stop, right?! Len let out another scream and started thrashing against the floor. Rin sprinted to her desktop and furiously yanked its power cord from the outlet. Instantly, the computer screen grew black. At the same time, Len's eyes widened, and his brilliant turquoise irises dulled to a dark, murky color. His body grew rigid as he collapsed to the floor.

"Len!" Rin cried and pulled his head onto her lap. He was sweating profusely, indicating he must have felt hot, but at the same time his teeth were chattering as if he was cold. Rin held one of his hands in hers and used her other one to brush his hair from his face. She froze. His hands were so clammy, yet his forehead was burning... A fever? She tried to straighten him but the cable prevented Len from moving much further. Maybe now that the cable wasn't active she could pull it out?

Rin gave it a slight tug and it came out with relative ease, but not without some consequence. Rin stifled the urge to gag as a few drops of blood leaked from his outlet and stained the tip of the plug.

"Len? Can you hear me? Len??"

"R-Rin," he groaned weakly and buried his face in her stomach. His grip on her hand tightened as his other arm wrapped around her waist, "D-Don't leave me…"

Rin bit her lip. She had to do something, but what? Out of the corner of her eye she spied a phone. Maybe Daddy would know what to do.

"Len," she whispered softly into his ear, "I'm going to call Daddy. He can have his scientists come help you, but you need to let me go, okay?" Rin gasped when his grip around her tightened, "It's okay! I'll be right back- only two seconds!" But he refused to let her go. He was muttering something, but it was so weak and incoherent that Rin could not decipher his words.

"Let go, Len…"

He refused.

Rin tried to pry herself from his desperate clutch, but he was much too strong for her.

"Len, please, I'm trying to help you…"

He shivered and kept his hold. Rin sighed. Guess she had no choice.  


* * *

Mr. Kagamine jumped slightly when he felt a vibrating in his shirt pocket, signifying he had an incoming call to his cell. Without looking away from the papers he was examining, he flipped open the device and set it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Daddy…? Something's wrong with Len…"

Mr. Kagamine straightened in his seat and dropped everything at the sound of his daughter's sobbing voice, "Len? What's wrong with him?"

"I-I don't know… I got an e-mail from your company that said to download something onto him that would check if anything was wrong, but I think it made him sick…"

"Sick? What exactly happened? Where is he now?"

"He's here, sleeping next to me. When he was downloading the file he said it was hurting him and I tried to disconnect him but the cable was stuck, so I had to unplug the computer. He has a fever now and I think all the pain eventually made him pass out. Took him two hours, though."

"Two hours?!" Mr. Kagamine's eyes widened, "This happened two hours ago? Why didn't you call earlier??"

"I couldn't," Rin's sobs were more audible now, "He was in so much pain and I tried to comfort him but he wouldn't let go when I tried to call you. So I had to wait until now…"

There was a long pause on the line as neither party was sure what to do next.

How could this be? Perhaps something _was_ wrong with Len after all, and that program brought it out…

"…Alright Rin," Mr. Kagamine sighed, "Try and make Len as comfortable as possible and wait until I call you back. Put a cold towel on his head and wrap him in a blanket, but don't give him any medicine. I'll go speak to the scientists now and see what can be done. Be good, okay Rin? No more crying, you need to be strong for Len."

Rin sniffled her understanding and hung up the phone. She did exactly as her father told her to and went to pull the blankets and pillows from her bed, arranging them as comfortably as possible about Len's immobile form. She then wetted a facecloth in a bowl of ice water and draped it over his forehead, refreshing it every now and then so that it stayed cold.

"It's alright, Len," she whispered, "I'm here… You'll get better, I promise."  


* * *

**Uwaah** cliffhanger! What's wrong with Len? Stay tuned for the next update fufufu~. And remember to review :3!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note-** UWAH. LONG update is LOOONG. Lawl. I think this one is like over 5000 words... which is like 12 pages? Ah, oh well. Anyways, lots of action in this chapter! This'll also be the last one where Rin and Len are nine- after this it'll time skip to when they're 14. By the way, all your reviews have made me very happy ;o; -hands out love-.

* * *

Rin fidgeted nervously as she waited on one of the chairs adjacent to the labs. It was eerily quiet; the only sounds heard were the occasional foot tapping or the gentle hum of fluorescent lighting up above. Beside her sat a much older woman, probably around her early 20's, silently staring at the wall across from them. The woman had long, silky pink hair that flowed elegantly down her shoulders, and she wore a black, somewhat Chinese-style outfit that was trimmed with gold. Her seafoam eyes radiated kindness, yet held a narrow sort of sharpness about them that signified a witty seriousness. She was Mr. Kagamine's secretary, and by far the best one he ever had. If Rin recalled correctly, her name was Megurine Luka.

"Luka," Rin began unsurely.

At the sound of the young girl's voice, the secretary perked up and smiled warmly, "Yes?"

"How much longer is Len going to be in there?"

Luka frowned, "I'm not sure, sweetie. Would you like anything to eat?"

Rin shook her head.

"Something to drink then? How about some hot chocolate?"

She paused.

Luka took that as a yes, "Alright, you wait here and I'll go get us some hot chocolate, kay?" But Rin said nothing and continued to focus on her feet. Luka sighed and bent down to cup one of Rin's cheeks, "Don't worry so much, dear. Professor Gakupo and Professor Leon are our best scientists, they'll find out what's wrong and cure him in no time. Have faith."

Rin nodded. Luka smiled.

As she left to get their drinks, Rin sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Daddy had called back 30 minutes later and told her he was coming home to take her and Len back to Mirror Corp. Of course there was much media uproar as Mr. Kagamine came home all of a sudden and drove away with his children, especially with Len unconscious in the back seat, and more outrageous stories started appearing on the news but Rin didn't care. All she could focus on was Len being immediately rushed to the labs and given to the care of two other men: one with lavender and the other with sandy blonde hair. Mr. Kagamine had went in with them and left Rin to wait outside with his secretary.

And there she had been waiting for four hours now. It was close to nine at night. Rin hadn't eaten anything but breakfast, yet she wasn't hungry. What were they doing in there? How was Len? Was he going to live? She felt like she was going to go crazy with all these questions running through her mind.

"Tada!" Luka held two Styrofoam cups filled to the brim with the rich, aromatic drink, complete with some mini marshmallows and a heaping dollop of whipped cream, "This'll make you feel better."

"Thank you," Rin smiled meekly and took a sip. It was warm and comforting, yet not enough to settle the knot that had formed in her stomach.

For a while, neither female said anything, and drank their chocolate in complete silence.

"I'm surprised you're so attached to him," Luka finally said, "He's only been with you guys for, what, two months now?"

Rin looked up and blinked at her question, "Aa… I guess… Len's like the brother I never had. Daddy's always so busy with work, and I never really realized how lonely I was until Len came along. And having someone to play with every day, someone who took care of you, it was nice."

"I'm glad you care so much about him," the pink haired secretary leaned back contentedly, "Professor Leon expressed some concerns that you wouldn't treat Len right, but seems you've proved him wrong, ne? It's always nice to care, and have someone who cares for you."

"What about you, Luka?" Rin kicked her legs against the floor, "Do you have anyone you care about, or who cares about you?"

A light blush formed on the older woman's cheeks. "I…" Luka started unsurely, "I do have someone who I care about very much, but I'm not sure if he feels the same."

"Why not?" Rin frowned, "Miss Luka is a very pretty, nice lady. What kind of man is he?"

"He's very smart," Luka chuckled, "Very handsome. About my age, but much taller than me. He's got long hair similar to mine, except his is purple and he wears it in a high ponytail. He's serious a lot of the time but does have a soft side, except he never really shows it."

"And why doesn't he like Miss Luka?" Rin furrowed her brows together in confusion.

Luka smiled forlornly, "Love doesn't work like that, Rin. And he's busy most of the time, I'd just be a distraction."

Before Rin could inquire any further, the door to the labs swung open and two familiar men strode out. They both looked very solemn, very tired.

"Professor Gakupo! Mr. Kagamine!" Luka instantly rose and bowed, "How is everything?" At the sight of a certain purple haired professor, the pink on her cheeks deepened.

Gakupo acknowledged her greeting with a nod, "Everything's fine… for now."

"Is Len okay??" Rin ran to her father and pulled his suit jacket. He looked so pale and tired. Mustering as much of a positive expression as he could, the man bent down to pat his daughter on the head.

"We did as much as we could," he tugged at her ribbon, "The program made something go wrong with his system, but luckily he didn't download it 100% so it wasn't able to fully integrate with him. Right now he's been reset to a vegetative state similar to when we first got him, but we need to work out a few more kinks before we have you reactive him, alright?"

"So… he'll be okay?" Rin struggled to comprehend her father's myriad of vocabulary.

He laughed, "Yes, Len will be okay."

A few feet away, Luka shyly turned to the indigo eyed scientist, "So how was it?"

"A wreck," Gakupo explained quite bluntly, "That program was definitely not the one I sent out. Whatever it was, it did a number on Len's internal functional module. In other words, it tried to attack his mind by erasing his memories and replacing it with other stuff but was unsuccessful. It did manage to install some weird stuff into his brain, though I was able to stop the virus's flow before it caused any real damage. I don't know how much is still left inside or how this rearrangement will affect him."

"Who could have done such a thing…" Luka's brow creased with worry.

"Someone closer than you think," his eyes narrowed as a certain sandy-blonde haired man exited the lab.

"Professor Leon!" Luka bowed.

"Hn," he grunted dismissively at her.

"Well, if everything is done," Mr. Kagamine said, "Then I suggest we all head home now. It's pretty late, and I think we all deserve a good night's rest."

Suddenly Rin shook her head vigorously and ran into the lab.

"Rin! Where are you going??" the adults called as they ran after her. They found her standing by Len, staring in awe at the machine he was resting on. It was shaped in such a way that Len was reclining against it, almost like a chair, yet had so many wires and lights running through the hunk of metal that Rin could barely discern what was going on. Nonetheless, she reached out and held one of his limp hands with both of hers.

"I want to stay here," Rin stated, "With Len."

"That isn't necessary," Leon's lips set in a firm line, "You being here might cause some interference."

Rin frowned. "I'm staying here with him. I won't touch anything- I promise!"

Mr. Kagamine scratched his head, "You can't stay in the lab, Rin. It's not safe. And you need to go home to change into your pajamas and shower and stuff. Plus, where would you sleep?"

"I have a fold out bed in the couch in my office, sir," Luka piped up, "Occasionally I spend the night when the workload becomes too much. I'll even stay with her if you want."

Rin gazed with hopeful, turquoise orbs at her father, who knew that once she pulled those puppy dog eyes the fight was already over. "Alright," he sighed, "I need to finish some stuff in my office first, before heading home. I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Yay!" Rin threw her hands up happily and embraced her father. Behind them, Leon's eyes narrowed, an action which did not go unnoticed by Gakupo.

* * *

"Are you comfy?"

"Yup!" Rin grinned and snuggled into the bed's sheets. It was kind of awkward sleeping in her every day clothes, but at least she wasn't wearing what Luka was. The woman seemed to be having a hard time getting comfortable in her business clothes.

After bidding each other goodnight, Luka turned off the lights and fell fast asleep. Rin, on the other hand, couldn't seem to keep her eyes closed. Her mind constantly drifted back to Len and whether or not he was alright. Luka had told her over and over again that everything was okay, but for some reason she couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen to Len if she wasn't there. An hour passed. Then two. Rin was still staring at the ceiling. She glanced at the door.

"Should I go?" Rin wondered, but then shook her head, "No, everything's okay. Gakupo, Daddy, and Luka said so. I just have to trust them." Rin pulled a handful of the sheets over her head and shut her eyes. One minute… two minutes… "Gah! Why can't I get this bad feeling out of my head? Go to sleep, Rin, go to sleep!" But as much as she tried to fight with herself it was of no use, and the anxiety continued to build. "Okay… maybe a glass of water."

Slowly, without disturbing her caretaker, Rin climbed out of bed and gently padded about the office looking for a water dispenser. Odd, there wasn't any. Didn't people usually keep some in their offices in case they got thirsty? Oh well, maybe there was one in the hallway. Rin vaguely remembered there being one next to the elevator. She gently creaked open the door and slipped outside.

It was dark. Rin could barely see anything, except for the dim pathway lit by the tiny bits of light seeping in through the windows at the ends of the halls. An ever present red light illuminated the area by the elevators. There! The water tank!

Her white ribbon bounched as she skipped over to it and grabbed one of the nearby paper cups. Just as she was about to pour herself a cup, she stopped and gazed at the elevator's reflection in the tank. The image of a certain blonde haired boy flashed through her mind.

"Len…"

Rin turned around slowly and faced the elevator's large, double doors. She saw her reflection staring back from the metallic surface, yet there was something different about it. Without a word, she pressed the button and stepped inside.

The elevator dinged, signaling her arrival on the designated floor. Cautiously, she made her way to a pair of white doors with the words "LAB 1" printed across. Above them hung a lit sign that read "CAUTION: Authorized Personnel Only". Rin frowned and looked to the side, where a DNA scanner was. On its label were several warnings and instructions. Apparently, one had to place his or her hand on the scanner, and if the DNA matched any of the ones in the "approved" bank, then the person would be allowed entrance. If not, then an alarm would go off and the entire floor would go on immediate lockdown.

Well, it seemed as if her journey ended there.

But despite all that, Rin didn't know why she still put her palm against the scanner. A few beeps later and the doors opened with a heavy sigh.

"Access granted."

The turquoise eyed girl drew back, stunned. It worked? How? She looked at the screen, where Len's face was displayed. Oh yeah, wasn't her DNA integrated with Len's, or something? Speaking of which…

As Rin entered the chamber, the lights up above turned on automatically, illuminating her every step and revealing the object of her quest. There he lie, on the same mechanism as earlier and in the exact same position- nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The knot in her stomach loosened somewhat, yet wouldn't go away completely. Suddenly, she heard the lab doors beep and open with another groan. Rin squeaked and hid behind Len's chair.

"Rin? Are you in here?"

"L-Luka?" Rin peeked out from behind one of the legs. She sighed, relieved that it was someone she knew, yet immediately tensed up again. Luka was probably going to reprimand her for sneaking in here. "I-I…"

"I knew it," Luka bent down to pull the younger girl up, "Come to check up on Len, hm? Gakupo said he's fine, dear. He'll still be here in the morning. Anyways, do you have any idea what time it is? It's nearly midnight! A growing girl like you needs her sleep- your father and Len wouldn't be happy to know that you stayed up all night. Let's go back to bed, ne?"

"I don't want to..." Rin bit her lip and looked shyly at the floor, "at least not yet."

Luka blinked and smiled, "Want to sit with him a while?"

Rin nodded.

The girls settled themselves beside Len.

"So what made you come check up on him? Still worried?"

"I just had a bad feeling and wanted to come see him for myself," Rin fidgeted nervously. For some reason, her anxiety suddenly increased tenfold.

"Ah, I see," Luka put a finger to her lips, "What kind of bad feeling?"

Before Rin could answer, the doors to the lab slid open for the third time. From their position, it was hard to discern who the newcomer was, but the heavy shoulders and blocky build signified that it was a man, and he seemed to be holding something at arm's length.

"Professor!" Luka gasped, "What are you doi-"

A loud bang suddenly rang throughout the lab. Luka screamed. Rin's eyes widened.

* * *

Mr. Kagamine jumped when the door to his office swung open. He had just about finished up with all the business he missed during the day and was getting ready to finally go home.

"Professor Gakupo?" he squinted, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things, "You're still here?"

But Gakupo wasted no time with trivialities, "Where is Leon?"

Mr. Kagamine's brows furrowed together in confusion, "He went home hours ago. Why do you ask?"

The lavender haired scientist brushed by him and immediately settled himself in front of Mr. Kagamine's computer, typing away furiously. "Leon planted that virus in Len."

"What…?" the CEO's confusion increased, "Why would he-"

"It's because he still thinks Len is his son," Gakupo interrupted, never once taking his eyes off the screen, "and he's fully aware of Len's capabilities. He knows that Len is far superior to regular beings, and if equipped with the right arsenal and programming he could potentially become a deadly weapon. Leon wants to use him for power. He plans to reveal Len to the world when the time is right and then achieve widespread acclaim for "his" brilliant creation, thereby earning him endless money and resources to continue his research or do whatever the hell it is he wants. It'd also be like giving his son another chance to live, except gloriously."

"How…"

"I spent the past few hours hacking into Leon's databanks," Gakupo stopped typing and turned the screen to his boss, "Here. Take a look for yourself."

Mr. Kagamine was awestruck. "Incredible… Look at these logs! They date back to years ago. He's been planning this for quite a while… There's so many entries."

"Apparently he used some program to delete my e-mail before Rin could see it," Gakupo continued, "and instead replaced it with his. The virus that Leon planted in Len is supposed to erase most of his free will/memories and replace them with those of his late son, but it's near impossible since Rin's DNA has been integrated into Len's mind since creation, and as long as she says his name he will always remember her. But Leon has been desperately trying to find a way to stop Len from remembering her… and I think he might do something drastic."

"Drastic? You don't mean…"

"Exactly. Rin is the only thing standing in his way, and knowing Leon, he won't stop at anything to remove all obstacles. We need to get Rin and Len somewhere safe as soon as possible, before Leon returns tomorrow. Is Rin still wit-"

A bang and scream interrupted his speech. Both males paled. They looked at each other. The lab!

* * *

"Leon, what do you think you're doing?!" Luka shivered and shielded Rin with her body, "Put that gun down right now!"

"Shut up," Leon stared at her with a cold, unfeeling expression. As Luka opened her mouth to protest, Leon fired another shot in the air.

Rin whimpered and hid her face in the older woman's shoulder.

"Give me the girl."

"W-What? No! You can't have her!"

"I said," Leon's eyes narrowed, "Give me the girl."

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my daughter."

Mr. Kagamine's figure appeared in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Rin shouted and was about to run to him when she met eyes with Leon. If she went to her father, that would only bring her closer to Leon. Rin took a few steps back.

"Leon," Mr. Kagamine's tone was grave, "I know everything. I know what you're planning to do with Len, and you won't get away with it."

Suddenly, the sandy haired scientist started laughing. Rin, Luka, and Mr. Kagamine drew back with bewildered expressions. What was so funny?

Gradually the laughter increased in volume until he was full on cackling. Leon snapped his head toward the sky, eyes wide, veins protruding from his throat. Neither of the others knew what to do, too paralyzed with fear and fascination at the madman's actions.

"You fools!" Leon sneered, "Now you see what Len is?! He's the perfect being! The pinnacle of nature and technology combined! But _you_," he pointed an accusing finger at Rin, "_You_ use him to do _useless household chores_ and _sing you lullabies_! How dare you mistreat such a fine specimen; you don't deserve him! I, on the other hand, will make him great. I will show the world the awesome power of a Vocaloid and finally give my son the chance to live again the right way!"

"He's not your son, Leon!" Mr. Kagamine shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Leon's knuckles turned white as he gripped the gun with all the force he could muster.

"His DNA is not the same as your sons!" Mr. Kagamine ignored him and continued, "It might have been when he first started out, but it's changed since then! Open your eyes, Leon!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!"

A shot rang through the air.

Rin and Luka let out twin screams as Mr. Kagamine fell to the ground, clutching at his abdomen. Blood seeped through his fingers.

"DADDY!"

"MR. KAGAMINE!"

"DON'T MOVE," Leon hollered and aimed his gun at the two females, "You're next."

His eyes locked with Rin's.

"You know," he said as he stepped closer to her, "You've been a real thorn in my side, even though we've never even met. You're a whiny, spoiled, little girl, mistreating Len as your slave. I know. I've seen through his memories. So, as a favor to both him and myself, I'm going to eliminate you, then you'll never be able to say his name and he'll never be able to remember you. And then he'll listen only to me! Brilliant plan, isn't it?!"

Leon cackled again lifted the gun to Rin's forehead, finger dancing dangerously about the trigger.

"Let them go."

All four of the room's occupants turned to look at the sudden source of the interruption. There, standing at the doorway, was Kamui Gakupo, holding a gun of his own.

Leon faltered for a second but quickly covered it up with a wide grin. "Ah, Gakupo! So nice of you to join us."

"Put the gun down, Leon."

Leon snorted, "And what are you planning to do? Have me arrested and explain this entire situation to the police? Then everyone will know about Len and the scandal will make this company go under, leaving you and the rest of Mirror Corp's miserable employees jobless! Tch, you'd never do that. You're too soft, Gakupo."

"Really?" lavender brows raised in interest, "What if I said I'm already way ahead of you?"

"What?" Leon grit his teeth.

"Always have been and always will be" Gakupo smirked, "The police are on their way and should be up here any minute now. Any last words?"

"You liar!" Leon seethed, "Tell me the truth or I'll shoot this brat over here!" He aimed at Rin.

Gakupo's expression hardened. "It's true."

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Leon shouted. He fired.

There was a scream as a body fell to the floor.

"LUKA!!" Rin ran to the secretary's side, tears streaming down her face. Luka had thrown herself in harm's way and took the bullet for her. Gakupo's eyes widened.

"Idiot woman, getting in the way." Leon grunted and reloaded his gun.

"G-Get behind Len," Luka whispered to Rin, "H-He won't shoot at you if y-you're behind Len… Go, quick."

Rin nodded. Determination set upon her brow as she ran to Len and pulled him from his chair.

"W-What are you doing?!" Leon's expression turned to one of horror, "DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR HIM! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS AWAY, GIRL!" He fired some warning shots in the air. Rin shut her eyes and pulled still unconscious Len in front of her. The shots stopped and Leon grit his teeth in anger. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he felt the barrel of another gun press against his spine.

"It's over," Gakupo deadpanned, "Drop your gun."

Leon was sweating now, but he still mustered a grin, "Or what, Professor Gakupo? What will you do? _Shoot me_?"

"Don't test me."

"Do it!" Leon laughed, "I dare you!"

"I'm warning you."

"You don't have it in you!!"

Gakupo pulled the trigger.

Leon's body hit the ground with a thud.

* * *

Rin stood outside the hospital room with a large bouquet in her hands. Beside her was Mr. Kagamine, who was currently wheelchair ridden and being tended to by Kamui Gakupo. It had been two days since the incident. Minutes after Gakupo had shot Leon, the police arrived, and then everything was a blur of sirens and shouts. Luka, Mr. Kagamine, and Leon were lifted onto stretchers and immediately rushed to the hospital. They were about to take Len too, but Gakupo intervened and said Len was simply unconscious, and after checking his vitals, which Len still had, the paramedics reluctantly relinquished him to Gakupo's care. Rin and Gakupo were kept behind for hours as the police questioned them as to what exactly occurred, but Gakupo took care of much of the talking, easily making up excuses for everything. Rin went along and agreed with everything he said.

He explained that Leon had an insane thirst for power and was not satisfied with the position he held at Mirror Corp. Thus, he plotted to kidnap Len for ransom but was found out, which led to their current predicament. The police seemed to buy it, and after collecting more samples as evidence, let them go.

Gakupo had taken care of Rin and Len for the next two days, working day and night to purge Len of that virus. But so far he hadn't been as successful as he would have liked. On the third day, the hospital called and told Gakupo that it was okay for them to visit Luka and Mr. Kagamine now. Leon had been transferred to a separate prison hospital. They had gone to see Mr. Kagamine first, and while Rin hugged her father, Gakupo left for a few. When he came back, the purple haired scientist held an elegant and rather expensive looking bouquet in his hands.

"Give these to Miss Luka," Gakupo told Rin as he handed the bundle to her, "But don't tell her I bought them, okay?"

Rin frowned in confusion but complied nonetheless.

"Are you ready?" Gakupo turned and gave her a warm smile.

Rin nodded. Slowly, she creaked the door open. Gakupo followed, pushing Mr. Kagamine inside as well.

"P-Professor! Rin, Mr. Kagamine!" Luka gasped and shut the book she was reading.

"These are for you!" Rin grinned and thrust the bouquet into her lap.

"Oh my," Luka was speechless, "These… they're beautiful! Thank you, Rin."

"They're not from me" a devious smile found its way onto the younger girl's lips, "They're from Mr. Gakupo!"

Luka's eyes widened. Gakupo coughed profusely and turned to face the window.

"P…Professor?" the pink haired secretary turned a fierce scarlet.

"They're to apologize," Gakupo's voice was shaking slightly. Was he embarrassed? Rin giggled, "You shouldn't have gotten hurt."

Luka's blush darkened, "T-This?" She motioned to her bandaged wound, "It's alright, I'm used to stress, haha…"

Gakupo turned away from the window slightly to study the injury. His face softened. Rin could see a faint hint of pink also on his cheeks. "Get well soon, Luka."

Mr. Kagamine smirked and eyed the scene with amusement, "Come on Rin," he whispered, "Let's leave these two alone." Rin beamed and they slipped out without a word.

* * *

A month passed. Rin had been transferred to the care of Meiko and Kaito's families, because Gakupo couldn't find time away from his research of Len to properly make breakfast, lunch, etc for her. Every day, at a certain time, Gakupo would pick her up and bring her to the hospital to visit her father and Luka. On the third week, her father and Luka were released from the hospital and Rin went back to living at the Kagamine estate... alone.

She hadn't seen Len the entire time. It seemed as if Gakupo was never going to find a cure. She sighed heavily and gazed out one of the windows. Her mind started to wander to the usual things... where was Len? How was he doing? How much longer? Was he even going to come back?

A ringing interrupted her reverie.

Rin picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Her father's face appeared on its video screen. "Rin, hello! Listen, Luka's coming to pick you up right now and bring you to Mirror Corp. We've got a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

"You'll see when you get here." her father then ended the call with a bemused smile.

Rin blinked in wonder. Was he talking about...?

Luka came 30 minutes later, with the same bemused smile that Mr. Kagamine had. During the entire ride she refused to answer Rin's questions, only replying with a "You'll see."

They arrived at the company. Rin was now sitting in the same seats outside the labs that she had been so many weeks ago. Luka and Mr. Kagamine waited beside her. The doors to the lab opened and a rather happy Gakupo walked out.

"Miss Rin," he bowed, "Glad to see you again. If I may?" he motioned to her hand.

What, did he want to kiss it? Rin blushed and held it out, but to her surprise he withdrew a needle from one of his sleeves and gently pricked her ring finger. He then collected the resulting blood on a small, sample dish.

"Thank you," he bowed again, "I'll be back in a few moments." He disappeared behind the lab doors once again.

"Get ready," Luka's smile grew wider as she bandaged Rin's finger.

Rin was shivering now. She couldn't believe it. Was this really happening??

"Surprise!" Gakupo appeared again, this time rolling out a cart normally used to carry crates. Rin's eyes widened. There was...

"Len?!"

Gakupo stopped and turned the cart upright. For a moment, all was still. Luka and Mr. Kagamine held their breaths.

Then, a pair of heavy lashes fluttered open, revealing two lustruous, cerulean eyes.

"R-Rin…?"

Immediately, Rin squealed and threw her hands around his neck. Tears began to stream uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"W-What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Len looked flabbergasted and tentatively wove his arms around her waist.

"I thought you wouldn't remember me," Rin sobbed harder into his shoulder, "I thought you were gone forever..."

Len's expression softened, "I could never forget you Rin... you're a part of me. And I'll always be here, what are you talking about?"

She started to cry even harder.

"Ah!! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse!"

"You goof," Rin sniffled and punched him playfully on the arm.

Len glanced worriedly at the other adults, who just laughed.

* * *

**Weeew**. Done at last heheh. Hope you guys liked it! Review, review! xD. The more I get, the more compelled I am to update? ;u; -loves-.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note-** UWAH an update! Finally, ne? Hehehe. It's a super long one, so hopefully you guys will like it! Also, before I begin this chapter, some clarification: no I'm not done with this story yet xD. When I said "finally done" in the author's note at the end of the last chapter, I just meant I was done with the chapter LOL. Yes Leon did live. He's currently in prison now. You guys are too smart. Enjoy!

* * *

_A young boy sat on a chair in complete darkness. Only a few, dim strands of light seeped in from the lone window near the ceiling, but the meager rays were enough to elucidate his pale, sunken skin and silver hair which was pulled tightly into a high ponytail. His rouge colored eyes were dark and dull, as if he lacked any will to live. He breathed in short, shallow breaths, indicating that his body was in pain._

_His limbs ached as if they had been beaten with metal pipes. A constant throbbing assaulted his mind and occasionally fogged his vision. Every moment he spent awake was torture._

_The door behind him creaked open, allowing a brighter rectangle of light to shine into the room. A man's figure obscured the otherwise perfect shape. The boy did not bother turning to greet his visitor. He already knew who it was._

"_Father."_

_The man quietly shut the door behind him, once again robbing the chamber of visibility. He stepped into the faint spotlight illuminated by the window. One could perceive, if he or she strained their eyes enough, that the man was of a fairly fortuitous build, had slick, blonde hair and piercing, brown eyes. He wore an impeccable white lab coat._

"_How are you feeling, son?" The comment was empty, disheartened._

"_The doctors said I would require another blood transfusion," the boy replied nonchalantly, "This time they're not so sure my heart can handle it."_

"…_Ah."_

_The room was quiet. He knew his father was once again disappointed. But who could blame him? Every time he visited, he only received bad news after bad news. Scarcely was there any faint glimmer of hope about his only son's condition. But the man couldn't accept it. Their family had come from a long line of strong, successful individuals. He'd be damned if it was his son who would be the first to falter._

_The man ended the visit their and bid his son goodbye. The boy merely nodded, and once his father was out of earshot, let out a frustrated growl. He hated being a disappointment. He hated being a burden. He hated being in pain. Seething, he punched the ground beneath him, wincing as a particularly nasty jolt of pain ripped up his arm. But the boy didn't care. He felt as if he deserved the pain, and he continued to punch until his fist turned a ghastly purple and enough blood and pain throbbed from his knuckles to lull him into unconsciousness._

Len fell to the ground and clutched his head. He took a sharp intake of breath and writhed slightly. Those visions were happening again.

They started five years ago after the incident with Leon. Len didn't recall anything. He remembered falling unconscious in Rin's arms, and then waking up to her sobbing against his shoulder. Gakupo informed him shortly thereafter of what occurred, and Len was sickened, occasionally clenching his fists when Gakupo mentioned Leon's attempts on their, especially Rin's, lives.

The visions started not too long after, first happening during the car ride back home. Len concluded that they were the memories of Leon's son. Gakupo had tried his best to erase most of them but it's never really possible to fully remove a memory.

Len shook his head. "No, I shouldn't be thinking of this now. Time to wake Rin up."

He padded softly to her room and gently pushed open the door. A small smile graced his lips. There she was, sleeping in a tight little ball with her blankets wrapped around her like a giant, puffy cocoon. Usually, Len let her wake on her own accord, but today was different. Today was their first day of school.

Well, their first day together. Rin used to go, but after the media uproar five years before Mr. Kagamine thought it best if she stayed home and had Len tutor her. Now, however, they were fourteen, the age when one typically starts high school. Mr. Kagamine figured he couldn't shelter them from the outside world forever and finally consented to letting them go.

"Riiin," Len called and crawled onto the bed so that he kneeled beside her, "Rin, wake up! It's the first day, time to go get ready."

A groan was his reply.

"Rin, come on, get up now."

Another groan. Len sighed and shook her shoulder.

"Nnn..." a weak protest escaped her lips as she attempted to swat the intruder away, "Five more minutes…"

"Okay, if you wanna be late. It's already 7:00. School starts at 8, and it takes 35 minutes to get there. Plus you have to shower and eat breakfast and-"

"WHAT?!" Rin squeaked and shot up, fumbling and clambering to get out of bed, kicking Len onto the floor in the process. He landed with an indignant "oof!". Once free from the warm, comforting clutches of her bedding, Rin immediately sprinted to the bathroom, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER, LEN?!"

"I did!" Len protested indignantly, rubbing his head where he had fallen, "You just wouldn't wake up!" His yells were drowned by the sound of a showerhead turning on. Len sighed and plopped back onto Rin's bed. Familiar scents of citrus wafted to his nose.

Five and a half years… that's how long he had been part of the Kagamine family. Well, technically he had been a part of them when Mr. Kagamine first decided his existence, but nonetheless he couldn't think of a time when he had been unhappy being with them. Nearly every day he spent in Rin's company, yet he never tired of her. She was so spontaneous, so bright, there were new things to look forward to every day. It was probably the nature of his construction, though, to take after her. To feel what she felt, to sympathize with her: those were the reasons why he was created, so that Mr. Kagamine could have someone to take care of Rin while he was gone. When she was happy, Len was happy. When she was sad, Len was sad. Thankfully, there weren't many times when she was upset… but the few times it did happen, Len felt utterly powerless.

_Rin sat sprawled on the floor of the living room, sobbing and hiccupping openly. Her dress was being scuffed from rubbing against the carpeting. It was a nice dress too, one she had picked out and saved specifically for this occasion. Len stood above her, worry creasing his features. He held a three tiered birthday cake with 12 candles arranged neatly towards its center. He had spent all morning trying to prepare and decorate the cake, which, despite his advanced programming, had been surprisingly difficult. The blonde haired boy bit his lip._

"_Rin… what's the matter? Please don't cry, I'm right here!" she didn't seem to hear his pleas and continued on. "I-Is it the cake? I thought you would like it; it's banana-orange cream." When that elicited no response, Len's face fell, "I'm sorry, Rin. I'll go get rid of it right away."_

"_N-No," her voice was barely audible, "It's not that... Daddy's not coming again, huh?"_

_Len froze. So that's why she was crying._

_Rin smiled bitterly, "In that last e-mail he sent, Daddy promised he would be here for our birthday. He said when I woke up and went downstairs, he'd be standing there, smiling and wishing us happy birthday. But he's not."_

"_Daddy's been really busy," Len placed the cake on a table and bent down to rub her back reassuringly, "Mirror Corp is a big industry now. He has a lot of responsibilities."_

"_You always say that." Len was taken aback by the hint of resentment in her voice. "He doesn't come home anymore. He's always away on business trips or spending the night at his office… I can't remember the last time we saw him. You'd think he'd find time to see us sometime since he started leaving three years ago."_

"_No, he really does care. He's sent gifts and video messages, even on holidays. Why would he hate us?"_

"_It doesn't matter," Rin sniffled, "He can send as many gifts as he wants, I'll still be alone... like every other birthday."_

_There was a long pause. The only sounds that broke the silence were Rin's gentle sniffles._

_Neither looked at each other._

_Then, Len leaned closer and wrapped his arms around her. His bangs shadowed his face, concealing any emotion that may have been displayed. Rin gasped, not expecting such a rush of warmth. His embrace tightened, almost with a sort of desperate sadness._

"_But... I'm here."_

_Rin's eyes widened._

_Yes, Len had been there. He had been there the entire time. Fresh tears began to form. Len sputtered and started fussing about her, exclaiming his apologies for making her cry more, offering cake, gifts, oranges, etc. All Rin could do was laugh, which further increased Len's confusion._

_"Ne, Len, sing me something?"_

_"A song? As you wish, my lady..._

I'm glad I was able to love you from the beginning  
I'm going to sing to the sky  
Where I can launch a packed dream...

...No one can stop this  
If the end of world  
Arrived now  
Then I would leave everything behind and  
Two of us can be together forever  
Like a **Fire Flower**."

_Afterward, Rin didn't cry over her father's absence anymore. There were times when her sadness would peek through, but even then she'd quickly wipe it away and drag Len off to go play somewhere. He smiled._

"_Even if Daddy isn't around, I'll always have you, right, Len?"_

"PERVERT! What are you still doing in here?"

A sudden shout ended his reverie.

Shampoo bottles suddenly came hurling towards him. Len expertly dodged the flying toiletries, but was caught off guard by the sight in the doorway. Rin stood in nothing but a towel, her skin and hair still dampened by the shower water. He had accidentally caught her coming out of the shower before, especially when they first met and he wasn't yet accustomed to the concept of privacy, except this time she was 14 not 9.

"Are you staring?? GET OUT OF HERE!"

The poor Vocaloid didn't have much of a choice, as a projectile chair forcefully ushered him out of the room, a firm door slam sealing his exile.

As she listened to him scamper off like a scolded puppy, Rin smiled. Truth be told, she was also excited for their first day of school together. She always wanted to know what it would be like to have a brother, and now she could show him off in public. In addition, she could finally meet new friends and reconnect with old ones she lost after elementary school. Just thinking about it gave her goosebumps; Rin hurriedly put on her uniform, grabbed her bag, and rushed downstairs.

* * *

Len scanned the school's parameters, turquoise eyes bright with wonder. It was a very clean, modern looking building, with cream colored walls and spotless windows that glimmered spectacularly in the sunlight. He could tell it wasn't new, but it certainly hadn't been tarnished by time in any way. Even the grounds looked very kept. All around him, students were bustling about, hugging and greeting those they hadn't seen all summer. One boy recognized Rin and went over to hug her; however he made the fatal mistake of commenting on how Rin still looked the same as from 5th grade, body type and everything. That earned him a hefty elbow to the gut, courtesy of aforementioned girl.

"Why'd you elbow him?" Len gaped at the boy struggling to inhale, "He didn't do anything wrong, did he?"

"No… my hand just slipped." Rin huffed and walked towards the school's entrance. Len sighed and hurried after her.

"Say," one girl suddenly whispered "Is that Rin Kagamine?"

"No way, I haven't seen her in forever! And who's that cute boy with her?"

"What are you talking about? Let me see" a girl with long, golden locks made her way to the front. Upon making eye contact with each other, both girls paled.

"Akita Neru," Rin narrowed her eyes.

"Rin, I haven't seen you in forever! Who's this? Is he your brother?" Neru pushed passed her to examine Len closely. "He looks just like you… except cuter! You never told me!" She feigned hurt.

Rin frowned in annoyance.

"Hi there, my name's Neru," the cheeky girl batted her eyelashes seductively and leaned in so close Len could smell cherry lipgloss, "What's yours?"

"L-Len," he stumbled, startled by this girl's sudden closeness.

"You're a cutie," Neru smirked and ran a manicured hand along his cheek, "I'll see you around, ne?" she winked and sauntered off to greet other new arrivals. Len continued to stand there dumbfounded.

"Come on," Rin grit her teeth and dragged her Vocaloid off, "And close that jaw before you make the school drown from all your drool!"

"RIN! LEN!" two voices shouted in the distance. All irritation that clouded Rin before seemed to vanish as she laid eyes on the two individuals who had called their names.

"Meiko! Kaito!" the youngest Kagamine squealed with glee and ran to throw her arms around her elders, "Can you believe it? We're going to the same school now!"

"Easy there," Meiko laughed and tugged at Rin's omnipresent white ribbon, "It's not as fun as it seems. Wait until you see all the work you have to do... Who's your first teacher?"

"Literature and Language with Miss Ann," the young girl replied innocently. "Why, is she bad?"

"MISS ANN?" Meiko and Kaito yelped in unison. Kaito's face paled and Meiko began laughing hysterically. "_She's_ your first teacher? Oh boy, have fun with that! HAH!"

Rin suddenly didn't have a good feeling about today after all.

* * *

"Welcome to the first day of school! My name is Miss Ann and I will be your literature and language teacher for the year. I hope you all enjoyed your days off, because there will not be anymore laying around and doing nothing in this class. This is high school and I'll be expecting more from you. Understood?"

The class groaned its reply.

Miss Ann sweat dropped and put on a fake smile to hide her irritation, "Yes, well… Now for the attendance. Please stand and introduce yourself when I call your name. Akita Neru?"

"Hai!" the blonde stood up with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary. She winked at Len, who looked confusedly at her and then to Rin. Rin sighed and buried her face in her hands.

The teacher went down the list strategically, not once making an error with a student's name. She called out Rin's name, and then Len's. At the mention of the latter Kagamine, a hush befell the class. They looked at him curiously, whispering cautious gossips about the incident five years ago, which all of them could barely remember. Many girls giggled and remarked on his cuteness, calling him a "shota". Len's confusion only increased. But he was forgotten, as soon as the next name was called.

"Hatsune Miku?"

A young girl sitting in the top left corner of the classroom stood. For the second time that morning, the class fell to a hush. The girl had bluish green, almost teal, colored hair that was drawn up in long pigtails. Her striking, heavily-lashed viridian eyes scanned the room timidly before she bowed, allowing her school uniform to stretch tautly over her slender, graceful form. Every boy blushed as their eyes roamed unrestricted up and down her creamy, exposed thighs and ample chest. Rin's eyebrow ticked. Psh, typical hormonal boys. At least Len wasn't like the-LEN?!

As she turned to look at her "brother," Rin caught Len staring wide-mouthed at Miku. Faint hints of red stained his otherwise porcelain cheeks. A small bit of annoyance started to form within Rin and she turned away gruffly.

For some reason, Len couldn't tear his eyes from Miku. She was beautiful, yes, but that wasn't why Len was so intrigued. There was something very familiar about her… but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. Almost like he had met her before…

The teacher finished her roll call and proceeded to pass out a stack of papers on her desk. "Over the summer, I assigned you several books to read, correct? And I trust you all did that? Good! But just to make sure, I whipped up a little test for all of you. The first 45 questions are multiple choice, and the last 3 are essay topics. Choose one and quickly write a 1 and a half to 2 page essay, no less and no more. You may begin as soon as you receive your test. When you're done, bring it up to my desk and I will grade it immediately."

Rin's face paled. A test?! Nobody said anything about there being a test, especially on the first day! She looked around her and noticed the rest of the class had stricken looks on their faces. "At least I'm not alone," Rin concluded, in a frail attempt at comforting herself.

Soon the only sounds heard were pencils scratching and whimpering students. 15 minutes passed… then 20… and at the 40 minute mark Len pushed his chair back and handed his test to Miss Ann. The class's jaw dropped. He finished already?! And even wrote two pages, all the way down to the last line! Miss Ann regarded him skeptically. He probably didn't read and just blindly felt his way through. Suddenly, another chair was pushed back and Miku stepped forward to turn in her test as well. Rin gritted her teeth and nearly snapped her pencil in half. Overachiever! And Len, that jerk! He could have at least snuck her some of the answers.

As Miss Ann graded both the tests, a smile alighted on her face. "Well, well, I'm surprised! We have our first 100%s, and this is the hardest one I've ever written! Excellent work, I have high expectations for this class!"

Sadly, everything would only go downhill from there, especially when Rin turned hers in.

* * *

"A 70?!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, at least it's not failing!"

Len looked worriedly at his "sister". They were in PE now and were doing a few warm up stretches before the teacher arrived, as well as discuss their tests that were graded almost immediately. Miss Ann sure was a dedicated teacher, almost to a frightening extent. And this was only the first day too!

"Yes, but it's not exactly acceptable either…"

"Tch," Rin grinned cheekily, "I'll have plenty of opportunities to make it up later." Len sighed dejectedly. Had everything he taught her gone to waste??

Loud whistle calls signified that the teacher had arrived. The kids clambered to their feet and assembled in neat, straight rows. "Good morning, class! My name is Kei-sensei, and I'll be in charge of making sure you all leave your first year in high school in tip top shape! BAHAHA!" After quite a frightening burst of laughter, or rather cackling, he turned back to the class with a certain fire in his eyes that wasn't all too comforting, "I trust you all got plenty of exercise over the summer, ne? I'll be testing your physical fitness today, so let's warm up. 100 JUMPING JACKS, GO!"

"W-Wha?!" Rin sputtered in disbelief. 100?! "You're kidding me."

"LET'S MOVE IT, KAGAMINE!"

The hairs on Rin's neck stood up at the teacher's frighteningly stern face and immediately launched into the exercise. Five minutes later the entire class was grabbing their knees in a feeble attempt to catch their breaths, save for two individuals who looked as if nothing had happened. Rin recognized them as Len and Miku. Len, she understood why he wouldn't be fazed by this type of physics exertion, but Miku?! So she was pretty, smart, _and_ athletic? Rin snorted for the umpteenth time that day.

The teacher then proceeded to shout out various stretches, reprimanding and correcting students' forms, then forced them to do 30 crunches, 50 twist sit-ups, and 50 pushups. By the end of it the class was a heaving, sweaty red mass… except Len and Miku. Rin felt her indignation grow every type she laid eyes on the green haired girl.

"OK, warm-up over! Time for the _real_ test!"

"WHAT??" the class paled in fear. If that was the warm-up…

"Two miles around the track. GO!"

"Kami-sama please have mercy and kill me now," Rin prayed.

After thirty minutes, everyone was exhausted, even Kei-sensei from all his yelling.

"Well, I'm surprised! Great jobs Len Kagamine and Miku Hatsune! A plus for both of you for today. AS FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS… You could all learn something from these two here! Exercising is a serious thing, you can't slack off during the summer! Look how unhealthy all of you are now- you should be ashamed…!" His words were soon tuned out and melded together into a jumble of complaints about television, childhood obesity, how more people should be like Len and Miku, etc.

"Thank you sensei," the two teenagers grinned and bowed in unison. They locked eyes and a bit of pink began to tint both of their cheeks. Miku looked away shyly.

"A-Ano," she began, "You did great, Len. I could barely keep up with you."

"You weren't so bad yourself," Len smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

If Rin wasn't so busy clinging onto consciousness with every breath she would have stomped over there and slapped the both of them into next week. Miku for being so perfect, and Len for being such a show off. The duo continued to talk and compliment each other until the bell rang, signaling it was time for them to get ready for the next class. But the teacher was lost in his own world ranting about the woes of fast food or something of the sort. Seeing as how hhe wouldn't be done anytime soon, everyone excused themselves and went to their respective locker rooms.

* * *

"Sooo, how do you guys like high school so far?" Meiko smiled slyly and took a sip of her sports drink, "It's fun, ne?"

Rin groaned and almost threw her bento box up in frustration. It was lunch time. Luckily, she and Len had Meiko and Kaito to sit with, which was better than sitting in awkwardly separated groups like the rest of the other freshmen.

"No?" Kaito furrowed his brows, "I've been hearing good rumors about Len all day."

"People are talking about me?" the young boy blinked.

"Mhm," Kaito bit off another piece of his ice cream sandwich, "Most of the upperclassmen have been commenting on how a kid with blue eyes and blonde hair in a little ponytail has been showing up all the other freshman. I heard you got full marks on Miss Ann's first test and passed Kei-sensei's fitness assessment barely breaking a sweat. Man, my first day I only got a 93 on that test and didn't get nearly as fast a time as you. Ha!"

"Show offs," Rin grumbled.

"Mou, Kaito you really shouldn't be eating ice cream for lunch," Meiko scolded and snatched the offending object from him.

"M-Meiko!" Hey, give that back!" Kaito whimpered defensively.

Rin and Len shared a giggle at the two upperclassmen's antics, especially when Meiko resorted to pulling at Kaito's scarf until he made funny choking noises.

"LEN!!"

Abruptly, all four looked up to see who had called the name. There, skipping happily towards them was an underclassman with long blonde hair tied into one ferociously large ponytail.

"Ah, Akita Neru?" Len smiled.

"You remembered me! I'm so glad," Neru grinned and threw her arms around his neck.

"Well, I just met you this morning-"

"Say, Len, are you busy this weekend? I know we just met and all, but I'd like to get to know you more! What do you say?"

"I-I'll have to think about it, but that sounds great!"

"REALLY? AWESOME! Meet me at that ice cream shop downtown, you know the one with the big plastic statue of chocolate and strawberry soft serves in front of it. Three o' clock, kay? Don't be late!" Neru winked before hopping off to join her other friends, who were watching open-mouthed nearby. Rin felt as if her eardrums were going to bleed from all the fan girl squealing resonating from that table.

"A date already?" Meiko's face grew mischievous, "Wow, someone sure moves fast."

"And she's cute too," Kaito added.

"Y-You think so?" Len struggled to comprehend all that was going on. He had a date now? What was that?

Rin was pretty sure if looks could kill, three certain people sitting near her would be dead right now. She didn't feel like finishing the rest of her meal and closed up her bento before storming out of the cafeteria, claiming she needed to go to her locker. Alone.

"What's up with her?" Meiko blinked, "Did you poison her bento, Len?"

"What?! Why would I do that?!" The poor boy looked mortified.

Kaito and Meiko spent the remainder of the lunch period reassuring him that they were only kidding.

* * *

"Man, today was great!" Len swung his arms up happily, "School is so fun, I could see why you wanted to go back so much. People are so friendly!"

"Yeah," Rin replied gruffly.

Len blinked, "What's wrong, Rin?"

"Nothing." …other than the fact that you hogged all the attention.

"You seem mad. Did I do something wrong?"

"No," … except everyone threw themselves on you and only two people recognized me from elementary school, but even then they went to talk to _you _more! Rin sighed and shook her head, "Now hurry up or we'll miss the transit bus and have to walk all the way to the end of tow-LEN! What are you doing?!" The blonde haired girl gasped and clutched at her heart. Len had suddenly decided to stop right in front of her and peer into her face, so close that their foreheads were almost touching. Rin felt her cheeks grow warm. "P-Personal space, Len!!"

But he continued to scrutinize her. "Rin… are you sick?"

Sick?! What the, "No! I'm not sick, what are you talking about??"

Len narrowed his crystalline eyes and leaned forward even more so that their foreheads _were_ touching. Now her cheeks were _really_ hot. After a somewhat awkward pause, he finally decided to speak. "…You _are_ sick! You've been acting funny all day, and your face is warm!"

"UGH!" Rin pushed him away in frustration, "Let's just get home!" Just as she lifted a foot to proceed down the walkway, a soft inquiry met their ears.

"Len? Rin?"

Rin froze. She'd recognize that melodic voice anywhere, but unfortunately, instead of sounding like bells it was more like grating against her ears.

"Miku?" Len blinked, scarcely able to believe her presence, "Hey!! What're you doing here?" He ran up enthusiastically to the green eyed girl's side. Rin narrowed her eyes. Really, she didn't know why she disliked Miku so much. The girl was sweet and hadn't done anything against Rin the entire day, and it wasn't as if Miku was avidly pining after Len like Neru and several other girls at school were. But still… Rin just… didn't like her. At all.

"I was just on my way home…" Miku replied, "I guess you two are also?"

Len nodded vigorously, "Are you taking the bus too?"

"Oh no, I live around here, in town." Miku motioned to a group of buildings in the distance, where the heart of the city was. "But I should get going now. Ne, it was very nice meeting you two today. Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

Rin was just about to say that they were probably going to be busy with a lot of work.

"Sure!" Len took it upon himself to answer on behalf of Rin also, "Just name when."

What?! Rin couldn't believe this! Since when did Len make decisions for her? Wasn't _she_ the one who was supposed to be in charge?

Miku gave a genuine smile, one that was a little to sparkly for Rin's liking. "Ja, I'll see you guys tomorrow then!" She waved and ran off, locks of silky, teal hair flowing like elegant ribbons behind her. Len grinned and waved, not stopping until she was merely a speck in the distance. As he turned back to say something to Rin, he found that she was already well down the street, and judging by how firmly she was stomping against the pavement she probably wasn't too happy.

"Rin?? What's wrong? Why're you walking so fast??"

"Don't talk to me, Len!"

"What? Did I say something wrong? What did I do? Hey, wait for me! RIIIN!"

Behind them, the sun began to set.

* * *

**BAM!** Whew, glad to have gotten this off my chest. Wish I could have updated sooner, but what with school yadda yadda. Dreadfully sorry! Review, review, and happy Thanksgiving loves! Gobble gobble.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note- **Yay, another chapter. I really should stop writing these at 4am nyeheh. They'd probably come out better if I didn't but oh well. Enjoy!

* * *

"GOAL!!"

"Kyaaa, Len! You're so awesome!"

"I wish I was as strong as you!"

"Ne, you should play us sometime!"

Len Kagamine grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. A small crowd had gathered around to congratulate him on probably the 10th goal he had scored. It was PE period; the sport today was soccer. And because of all those goals, his team won, meaning they got the extra credit for the day.

"Yo, Len," a boy slung his arm around the blonde's shoulders and led him away, despite many girls' protests, "How do you make all these girls fall in love with you?"

"E-Eh?" turquoise eyes widened, "I made someone fall? Where? When?"

"No, not literally fall, baka!" the boy facepalmed, "Look over there, see those girls? They're all swooning over you! They like you! Practically collapsing when they look at you!"

"AH! N-Nami fainted!"

"Quick, someone call the nurse!"

"Where's her inhaler?!"

"Um, Takeshi," Len quirked an eyebrow, "Nami has asthma, and we worked out a lot today, I don't think..."

"OF COURSE SHE DID!" Takeshi snorted, "Look at how she's blushing!"

"HELP, SHE'S SUFFERING A HEAT STROKE!"

Len sweat-dropped.

"Len, great job today!"

Both boys looked behind them, where a teal haired girl was waving and running towards them.

"M-Miku!" Len couldn't help the pink that tinted his cheeks, "Thanks! You too, your team put up a good fight!"

"Not as well as yours," Miku shyly stopped in front of him and kicked at an imaginary rock on the ground.

Takeshi looked back and forth between the blonde and the teal-haired girl. Why were they both blush-ooohh. He got the message. "Hey, Len, I think my team needs me. See you back in the locker room!"

Len blinked, confusedly waving at his departing friend. Wait, they were both on the same team, didn't that mean they needed him too?

"Len," a voice drew his attention back to the teal-haired girl.

"Oh, haha, sorry Miku," he nervously scratched his head, "Kinda zoned out there for a second."

"It's alright," her green eyes softened, "Ne, did you finish the math homework last night? There was one problem I couldn't quite figure out and was wondering whether you could help me with it during the second half of lunch."

"Sure, no problem!" Len grinned, "A friend in need is a friend indeed? Ha ha ha…" What, did he just say that? Really?

Awkward pause. Len's face flushed. Smooth, Len. Real smooth.

Miku suddenly started to giggle. The pink on Len's face turned deep crimson as he attempted to laugh with her. Before long, the laughter escalated until both of them cracked up and and shook off the awkward tension.

A certain blonde haired girl, on the other hand, radiated an intense, killer aura as she watched the scene from her position at the water fountains. Several kids who came to refresh themselves suddenly ran back to the field screaming that a scary demon had suddenly possessed the area.

"Oi Rin Kagamine, stop sulking, you're scaring everyone away!"

The demon girl blinked when two legs obscured her view. Turquoise eyes traveled up the twin limbs until they found themselves face to face with the legs' owner:

"Hi, Teto."

Kasane Teto shook her head and placed her hands on her hips, curly red pigtails bouncing at the action, "Honestly, why have you been in such a bad mood lately?"

"I'm not in a bad mood," Rin pouted and slumped against a wall, "I'm just tired."

"You are too in a bad mood! Your face says it all!"

"No way!" Rin turned around and gazed at her reflection in the water fountain's faucet. Sure enough, she was scowling, "Tch, well it's nothing important."

"You know, if something's wrong then you should really tell someone. It's not good to keep it inside. If you won't tell me then at least tell Meiko or Kaito or Len or... hey! Are you even listening to me?" Teto frowned and flicked her friend's forehead.

"Hey, ow! What was that for?"

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing," Rin raised her water bottle to her lips.

Teto didn't believe her. She bent down and followed Rin's line of sight. It led to the field, where a certain blonde boy and teal-haired girl were laughing and holding onto each other for support.

"Eh?! Why are you looking at them? Are you _jealous_? Gasp! Rin, don't tell me... YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH YOUR OWN BROTHER?!"

"WHAT?!"

Teto suddenly found herself sprayed with the water Rin had been about to swallow.

"I was just kidding," the redhead took the towel that hung on Rin's shoulder and dried her face with it, "But you should be happy for him. Be proud, he's your brother, people like him don't come around often."

"I guess," Rin frowned. She didn't like to be lectured.

Kei-sensei's shrill whistle calls could be heard in the distance.

"Whoop, time to go in, Rin!" Teto leaned down and dragged her scowling friend up, "Oh come now, lunch is next! At least you don't have to sit in a classroom."

* * *

"Eee! Look," a girl squealed, "the top two buttons of his shirt are undone! I can see his collarbone, how dreamy~!" She pointed at the side of the girl's locker room, where a boy stood leaning against the side wall. He had what looked like two wrapped bento boxes, one in simple yellow cloth and another in light pink with little flowers imprinted on it.

"That other lunch box must be for his sister Rin," she pouted, "I'm so jealous, I wish Len would make lunches for me. Lucky girl."

"Aa~ his cheeks are still flushed from all that exercise," another whispered excitedly, "Kawaii…"

"And his hair!" a third clung onto her friends' arms, "that tousled look looks so good, don't you think?"

"H-He's looking this way! M-Mari, go say something to him!"

"W-What?! Why m-AH!" the girl's face radiated bright red as she suddenly found herself pushed towards the boy she had just been ogling.

"Can I help you?" Len raised an eyebrow as this girl almost collided with him. She stared up at him like a deer in headlights. Her friends hid behind her, but both stared with equally bulging eyes. Len found this to be rather disturbing.

"U-Um," Mari uttered after one of her friends gave her a firm kick in the back of the leg, "Y-you're L-Len Kagamine, right?"

"Yeah," Len smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood, "That's my name."

"A-Ano, we were j-just wondering... W-WOULDYOULIKETOHAVELUNCHWITHUS?!"

"PLEASE?!"

Len jumped back, startled. He definitely did not see that coming. Well, actually, he had been getting quite a few offers to eat with people. Was everyone in this school starving or something? "I'm sorry," Len offered an apologetic grin, "I can't today. Maybe some other time?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Why didn't anyone say anything? Did he hurt their feelings? Len opened his eyes but instantly sputtered at the sight that greeted him. All three girls were hovering dangerously close to his face, and they stared with dinner plate sized eyes at his... lips? What the-?

"KYAAA~!"

Rin yawned as she exited the locker room but then nearly choked when she heard high-pitched screaming come from her left. Looking over to investigate the cause, she saw three girls from her PE class jumping around a very confused looking Len. Her eyebrow twitched. Figures. Just as she stepped forward to tear the girls from her "brother", Teto's voice resonated in her mind.

"_You should be happy for him."_

Rin tensed. She lowered her head.

Without another word, she turned and went the opposite direction.

* * *

"The breeze feels nice up here," Rin decided. She yawned and stretched herself out on the roof of the school, where there was nobody around to bother her. No Neru, no Miku, no Meiko, no Kaito, no Len, and definitely no screeching fan girls. She couldn't help but feel kinda bad for leaving him, but Teto said she had to be happy, right? She wasn't supposed to get upset and interrupt them. And besides, Len was smiling. He was probably fine with it. Rin snorted and turned over, trying to push those thoughts to the back of her mind.

The warmth from the sun caressed the exposed skin on her face and thighs, while a slight wind played with the loose golden locks that framed her face. Fluffy clouds drifted across the azure sky, offering some mindless entertainment to the already bored girl.

"Maybe a nap would be nice," Rin yawned again, "Yeah, just a quick one…"

"Are you sure you'll wake up in time for the next class?"

"AIEE!" Rin scrambled to her feet, "Who's there?!"

A boy slightly taller than her grinned and held up a hand in greeting. He had short blonde hair that was pulled up into a disheveled, high ponytail, and radiant cerulean eyes. "Yo."

"Len?" Rin blinked, scarcely able to believe he was standing in front of her, "What the… how did you-?"

"You look thirsty," Len crouched down and set two wrapped packages on the floor. He dug into the pink, flower-print one and pulled out a bottle of an orange flavored sports drink. "Here, bought this for you."

"T-Thanks," Rin slowly reached for the drink, all the while eyeing him suspiciously. How did he manage to find her here?

"I was looking all over for you," Len said while unwrapping the yellow package to reveal a neatly packed bento box. He broke apart his chopsticks and began shoveling rice into his mouth, "Meiko and Kaito were waiting at the usual spot," he continued between mouthfuls, "but you never showed up. Oh! You forgot your lunch too." He swallowed and grinned, offering the pink, flower-print package to her.

Rin accepted it and sat down beside him. She untied the cloth and began eating, though not with as much passion as Len. But Rin couldn't let go of the question.

"How did you know I was on the roof?"

Len opened his mini carton of banana milk and took a sip, "I just had a feeling. Maybe my Rin senses were tingling." He winked.

Rin couldn't understand why her cheeks felt warmer.

"What're you doing up here anyways? Mah, well, I guess the breeze is really refreshing," Len sighed and fell back with his hands behind his head. He had already finished his lunch and put everything back together. It felt nice, Len decided, to be alone like this, although he couldn't exactly shake the faintly tense mood hovering in the atmosphere. He glanced over to Rin, who still sat with her back to him. Her shoulders seemed rigid, and her overall person radiated an aura that felt like she didn't want him around anymore. But that wasn't true... was it?

"Hey, is something wrong?" Len tentatively broke the silence, "Teto came up to me and told me you needed to talk."

He saw her tense. "I'm fine."

Len furrowed his eyebrows and sat up, "Why can't you tell me?"

"What're you talking about?" Rin turned to face him, "I said I was fine."

"Has someone been threatening you?"

"Huh?"

"It's true, huh?!" Len instantly leapt to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Tell me, who is it? I won't let them get away with this!"

"A-Ah!" she winced, "Len, you're hurting me!"

The boy's eyes widened and he quickly let go. He looked down at his hands as if somewhat horrified. "I'm sorry Rin, I-I didn't mean to. I'm just worried- everyone's worried. You haven't said much lately, so we were kind of jumping to conclusions."

No response. Rin pulled her knees up to her chin. Len sighed. He scratched his head. Rin shadowed her face with her bangs.

"I guess," Len gathered up his bento box and stood, "If you don't want to talk about it-"

"I've been a real idiot, huh," Len was taken aback at how quiet Rin's voice was, "Acting all stubborn and selfish these past few days even though I've had no reason to. I guess this is what they call hormones, haha."

"Rin?" Len tilted his head in confusion.

Rin turned to him with a smile. This time, he could tell it was genuine. "Thanks for caring, Len." He blushed. It had been a long time since he had seen her truly smile, and it made him feel content inside.

Len shifted his weight from one leg to the other, "Not just me, Meiko, Kaito, Teto, and even Miku were worried about you too."

"Miku?" Again, that girl. She could feel the anger slowly crawl forth.

"AH! That's right! What time is it? Crap! I was supposed to meet Miku halfway before lunch was over so we could go over a homework problem she was having trouble with. Crap, crap, I hope she isn't too mad." Len towards the door containing the stairwell, "Gotta run now, see you later, Rin!"

"Yeah... see you later."

As soon as the door had shut behind him, Rin fell back and watched the clouds float by.

What was she thinking? There was no reason for her to be jealous, especially of Miku, who had done nothing wrong. So why did she have to get upset when Len talked to other girls? In the end, he was still essentially human. He had feelings, hopes, fears, dreams, and aspirations of his own; if Rin happened to fade from them then nothing could be done about it. Sure he was created for the purpose of protecting and staying with her, but it would certainly be impractical if he stayed _forever_… right? Someday, either he or she would get married, and it wouldn't be right to always tag along when the other person's spouse is around. Yeah, sooner or later they'd have to go their separate ways.

Rin felt a slight pang in her chest when the thought crossed her mind. Though she would never admit it to his face, Len had certainly grown on her. Every day she awoke to his face. He was constantly present, constantly taking care of her. He had pretty much become an essential part of her every day life, and to be honest she rather liked it. Definitely much more than being alone. So maybe that's why she got jealous.

"Ugh, look at me," Rin groaned in frustration, "I act like I'm in _love_ with him or something."

…

Love?

…

In love with Len?

Len, her vocaloid, Len?

…Did that thought seriously just cross her mind?!

"AAAHH!!" Rin wildly kicked the air while shaking her head, "No, no, no, that's so wrong! That's like… NO! I'm only 14, I can't truly love anyone yet… can I?"

"_Daddy, what's love like?"_

"_Love?" Mr. Kagamine blinked from atop his newspaper, "You're only 6, Rin. I don't think you'd understand yet."_

_Rin pouted and hugged her bunny plush closer, "Why not?"_

_Mr. Kagamine laughed and set down his paper in favor of his daughter, "Why do you ask? Do you have someone you like? Is it Kaito?"_

"_Eeew," Rin stuck her tongue out as her father placed her in his lap, "No way! Meiko likes him, not me."_

"_Is that so?" a slender, golden eyebrow raised in interest._

_The young girl squirmed so that faced her father, "All the princesses in the stories and movies fall in 'love', then they kiss the princes on the lips! Why do they do that?"_

_The elder Kagamine smiled and smoothed his daughter's ribbon, "Love is a hard thing to explain, Rin. It's when two people like each other very much, so much that they'd go crazy if the other person was gone. Just the thought of something bad happening is enough to make them uneasy. People show their love through things like kissing and hugging, but at first it might not be obvious."_

"_Daddy, did you love Mommy?"_

_At this, Mr. Kagamine tensed. He averted his daughter's gaze and stared at the carpet, a haze seemingly fell over his eyes. Rin poked her head closer to see what was wrong. "Yes," Mr. Kagamine's voice was barely a whisper, "Yes I loved her very much."_

"_How come you haven't gone crazy?"_

"_Oh, but I have. I've been out of my mind ever since I took over as boss at Mirror Corp" he sighed and hugged her, "But seeing your face keeps me happy because Daddy also loves Rin very much. One day you'll meet someone that you will care for a lot, and then Daddy'll have to let you go…Actually, you'll __be meeting someone very special very soon. I think you two will become very close."_

"_Who?" Rin instantly perked up, interested at the thought of making a new friend, "Who is it?"_

_But her father only smiled: "You'll see."_

Len arrived three years later.

"In any case, even if I do it's not like he has feelings for me either," Rin sighed and rested her chin on her knees, "He's only around because Mom wanted me to have a brother. I bet if he was allowed to be his own being he'd move out in the blink of an eye. I mean, I do treat him pretty horribly. He does my chores, wakes me up every morning, cooks, cleans, packs my lunch-" Rin suddenly stopped herself.

"_You," Leon pointed an accusing finger at Rin, "You use him to do useless household chores and sing you lullabies! How dare you mistreat such a fine specimen; you don't deserve him!"_

Rin lowered her eyes. Perhaps Leon was right. Maybe she really didn't deserve him after all. Maybe it was time she started preparing to let Len go, starting with alleviating the burden of having to care for her. Yeah, she'd wake herself up now, and make her own lunches. Len could still help out with her chores, of course, but as for everything else Rin was going to do it herself. She was 14, she didn't need him to baby her anymore. When she was littler, yes, but now they were in high school. Len deserved to have his own life instead of preoccupying his with hers. If he wanted to hang out with Miku or Neru then fine, that was none of her concern. She was going to be completely independent now.

That way, it'd hurt less when he leaves.

* * *

**Review**, review! I NEED MOAR! They're so addicting I don't even know why _.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note-** Oh my... I know it's been such a long time since I've updated and I'm so sorry for that ; u;. I absolutely have not forgotten this story and had always been meaning to update... but life just happens, you know? That and I had the longest writers block ever. Usually when I "plan" my chapters I write out the dialogue first and then fill in the details later but for some reason I couldn't figure out how I wanted this chapter to go. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoy this. It's almost 4am here and I'm extremely tired but I was on a roll today and didn't really want to stop lest my muse dies on me again lol orz. OK I'll stop with my pitiful excuses haha ; A;.

I do intend to finish this story, hopefully very soon. I have the basic outline of what I want to happen all written down... it's just kind of difficult because I want to skip to the end, you know? Hehe. All in all I think the story will have somewhere around 17 chapters... LOL. Long way to go, eh?

Oh and thank you so much for any of my loyal readers still following up on this story. I love you guys so much ; u; -gives cookies and glomps everyone, weeping-. Might possibly be some mild OOC.

i - normal text

_i_ - flashback/thought text

**i **- movie text

* * *

"I win again!"

"Mou, Luka, that's the fifth time you've won!"

"Yeah! Are you cheating? That's no fair."

"Let me see up her sleeves!"

"Now, now kids," the twenty-five year old woman winked, "You're all still ten years too young to beat me. But in the meantime, you can practice and hope by some stroke of luck you get some of your money back!"

Rin, Meiko, and Kaito nearly crushed the cards in their hands in frustration. All four were crouched around the Kagamines' central living room's coffee table, heavily engrossed in an intense game of none other than the infamous Go Fish. Luka grinned and raked in her winnings, bringing up her fortune by $55.67, which came to a grand total of $352.98 for that day. Behind them, Gakupo and Mr. Kagamine sat watching the scene with heavy sighs.

"Anyone up for another round?" Luka's eyes gleamed mischeviously, "I just need $50 more and I can finally get that purse I've had my eye on for weeks."

"YOU'RE ON!" Meiko slammed her fist onto the table, "DOUBLE OR NOTHING!"

Luka smiled sweetly and folded her hands under her chin, "Like I said, ten years too early. I'd quit now if I were you."

Rin's eyebrow ticked at her aunt's blatant cockiness. Yes, Luka was her aunt now, or at least considered to be. Her eyes traveled to the pink diamond ring adorning Luka's left ring finger, and then to the matching gold band on Gakupo's, or should she say _Uncle_ Gakupo's. Yes, uncle. A sly smile found its way onto Rin's face. After the Leon incident, Gakupo and Luka grew closer, but nobody knew about their relationship until two years ago when he popped the question during a company party. Rin could remember distinctly the shocked gasps and Luka's smeared makeup from all the happy tears she cried. Their wedding occurred six months later, and Mr. Kagamine walked with Luka down the aisle in place of her late father. Rin and Len were flower girl and ring bearer. From then on, they each considered each other family, much like how Kaito and Meiko were pretty much brother and sister to Rin and Len.

"Luka, you should take it easy on them," Gakupo said cautiously.

"NO WAY!" Meiko growled, "I can take her on, let's go! Deal us in! Double, no, _triple_ or nothing! We definitely won't lose this time, right Kaito? Rin?"

"Definitely," Rin smirked, determined to wipe that smug grin off her aunt's face. Gakupo sweat dropped. He was totally being ignored.

"It's alright, Gakupo," Mr. Kagamine opened his newspaper and began reading, "You get used to it."

"Actually," Kaito scratched his head in thought, "I'm… going to sit out this round." he slowly began to inch away from the table, but unfortunately not discreetly enough.

Meiko's eyebrow twitched, "Get back here!"

"ACK!"

"M-Meiko! Let go of his scarf, he's going to choke!"

"Man up, Kaito!"

"Gakupo, Mr. Kagamine! His eyes are bulging out of the sockets, and his skin is as blue as his hair! Is that alright?"

"Err…"

"He'll be fine. It happens all the time."

"Are we playing or not?"

"How do I look?"

The room's six occupants stopped what they were doing and looked up the staircase, where Len was standing. He looked at the scene before him: Meiko lynching Kaito with his own scarf, Luka shaking Gakupo to go pry the girl off, Mr. Kagamine attempting to cool his secretary down by assuring her that this was "normal" behavior, and Rin steadily reaching for a giant pile of money behind Luka amidst all the commotion.

"Err," he coughed unsurely, "What's going on here?"

Luka blinked, "…Len? You look so nice! Why all dressed up?" She ran over and examined him head to toe. His outfit consisted of a black tank top, metal-studded white leather belt, dark blue jeans, orange and yellow sneakers, and an orange zip-up hoodie. As usual, the boy completed the ensemble with his signature high ponytail.

"Looking good," Kaito whistled. Gakupo nodded as well.

"Len you shotaaa," Meiko sneered, "Trying to impress Neru?"

"W-What?" a heavy scarlet covered the boy's cheeks, "No, people are just supposed to look nice on these types of occasions."

"Aww," she continued to coo, "Wittle Wen is gwowing up!" She pinched his cheeks for added emphasis. Kaito smirked and Rin rolled her eyes in the background.

"S-Stop, Meiko!" Len swatted her hand away and stomped off, "I'm heading out now. Don't wait up for me, I might be home late." The front door slammed shut.

"Serious Len isn't very interesting," Meiko sighed and resituated herself by the coffee table. Kaito quickly gathered his scarf and scurried from her reach.

Mr. Kagamine looked up at the ceiling and scratched his chin, "Neru... Why does that name sound familiar... Say, Rin, wasn't she one of your friends in elementary school?"

"Yeah," Rin yawned, "She _was_."

"Ah! It's so good that you two are going to the same high school now," the older man clapped his hands together, "But then why didn't you go with Len?"

"I'm not wanted there, it'd be awkward."

"How so?" Mr. Kagamine obviously wasn't getting the hint, "This would be a good chance for you two to reconnect."

"Because," Rin sighed exasperatedly, "Len and Neru are on a _date_."

"..."

The room's occupants stiffened. All of a sudden, the atmosphere felt very cold.

"...A... _what_?"

"A date."

"..."

"Oh my," Luka whispered, "This doesn't look good." Gakupo paled and nodded.

"A..." the malice literally dripped from Mr. Kagamine's voice, "Date?"

"Here it comes," Meiko grabbed the other end of Kaito's scarf and shielded her face with it.

"Dad, it's not that big of a dea-"

"WHAT? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? WHAT IS HE DOING ON A DATE?" Luka and Kaito squeaked and huddled behind the recently overturned coffee table, away from the wrath of a certain extremely overprotective father, "He's only been going to school for a week; I haven't even had the chance to give him 'the birds and the bees' talk! HOW CAN THIS BE?"

"I-I'm sure Len already knows all that stuff," Luka peeked over her hiding place in a vain attempt to soothe her boss, "He's part comput-"

"LEN! LEN KAGAMINE," the older man roared and ran towards the door, "GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! Where has he gone? Where is he headed? LEN!"

"Mr. Kagamine, please calm down! Len will be fine."

"CALM? AT A TIME LIKE THIS? What if he and Neru end up making a huge mistake? What if we end up having to support a baby? I can't have that! Gakupo, didn't you say Len had the capability of being able to reproduce with other humans?"

The lavender haired scientist tensed when his name was referenced, "Err, well, yes, but-"

"WE MUST STOP THEM!" Mr. Kagamine assumed a righteous pose, "QUICK, EVERYONE INTO THE CAR!" He grabbed all five protesting individuals by the collars of their shirts and rushed to the garage.

* * *

A young girl leaned impatiently against a planter as she idly watched people go about their everyday lives: some on dates, some on family outings, and some just hanging about casually like she was. In one hand she scrolled through the messages on her cell phone as if half-expecting a text, and with her other she absentmindedly twirled a lock of her long, golden ponytail. A couple boys passing by looked her up and down and whispered excitedly to each other, except they weren't doing a very good job of being discreet.

"Dude, look at that girl, isn't she cute?"

"Yeah… looks like a high school girl, but check out those legs!"

The girl rolled her eyes and gave them the finger, slightly relishing the shocked expressions that crossed their faces. But in a way she was flattered. She did try to look especially nice today and picked out some short but not _too_ short shorts, a flirty tank top, a pair of brightly colored knee-high socks, and some bangles to finish off the look.

"Neru!"

The girl's amber eyes lit up as she turned to wave at the person she had been expecting, "Len, hey!"

"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" Len jogged up beside her, a slightly anxious look on his face. A delay on the subway had caused him to arrive a few minutes past the agreed meeting time, and he was pretty certain being late to a date was a very bad social faux-pas.

"Nope, I sort of just got here haha," Neru waved off his concern and edged her face slightly closer to his, "Eager to see me?"

Len blinked, a bit flustered by her sudden closeness, "I… err… Um, so what are we going to do?" He coughed nervously, trying to ease off the tension.

Neru smirked. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought. Putting on the most eager and absolutely girlish face she could muster, she cooed, "Ooh, there's this new movie out, and I was thinking we could catch it later! It's a romantic drama but it's apparently really popular. I hope you don't mind!"

"That sounds good." Len grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"Hooray!" Neru threw her arms up excitedly and clasped him by the arm. She fluttered her eyelashes up at him, "In the meantime, let's shop!"

* * *

"Look, there they are."

"…Mr. Kagamine, is this really necessary?"

Gakupo grimaced as he tugged at the ridiculous costumes he, Luka, Kaito, Meiko, and Rin all had to wear. He wondered briefly what Mr. Kagamine was doing with a bunch of trenchcoats, sunglasses, detective hats, and fake mustaches laying around… but then again there were many things about his boss that Gakupo didn't exactly want to know.

"Of course! What if he recognizes us?" Mr. Kagamine hissed and looked away from his binoculars for only a brief moment before turning back, not wanting to miss a single moment of Len and Neru's interaction. Currently they were all huddled behind a bush "out of sight"… more or less. "These outfits are an absolute necessity," he continued, "If we were dressed in our every day clothes then Len would recognize us instantly, and we can't have that!"

Gakupo felt his mortification multiply as several passerbys gave them curious glances and frightened murmurs, "Yes, but sir we aren't exactly inconspicuous either." But Mr. Kagamine was too engrossed in his spying, now whipping out some strange recorder-looking device that Gakupo presumed was for eavesdropping. He was about to retort again when Luka placed a hand on her husband's shoulder reassuringly as if to say "Don't worry. I feel your pain."

"You know, I actually like our outfits," Rin said as she tugged at her fake mustache, the thick bristles tickling her upper lip.

"These coats are flattering in a weird way," Meiko twirled to examine herself.

"Does this make my butt look big? Ow, Meiko!" Kaito pouted and rubbed the spot where she had whacked him.

"Idiot."

"Look, they're on the move! LET'S GO!" Mr. Kagamine shot up from his position, startling both his troupe and the confused citizens around them. As he attempted to shift from lamppost to lamppost, Rin groaned and tried to hide her face with her hands.

Neru and Len stopped first at an ice cream stand, ordering one chocolate and one vanilla cone respectively. Kaito had immediately leapt towards the alluring booth, and had it not been for Meiko's quick scarf-grabbing reflexes the entire mission would have been doomed… not that Rin minded much. As Gakupo and Mr. Kagamine took to lecturing Kaito, Rin turned her attention back to her Vocaloid and ex-friend. Neru must have seen someone she knew because she snuggled closer to Len and waved at a couple passing by. They talked for a little bit and Rin could see a faint hint of pink splay across Len's cheeks… but what got her the most was the Len was doing absolutely nothing to push Neru away.

But Rin didn't care. She had resolved a few days ago that he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

After finishing their frozen treats, the two went into a pretty popular clothing store that Rin had always thought was tacky.

"How about this one?" Neru held up a ruffled, pale pink top.

Len smiled slightly. A certain, spunky blonde had the same shirt. "It looks good."

"Then, what about this?" she exchanged the blouse for a cream-colored baby tee.

"That one's good too."

"You're just saying that!" Neru pouted playfully.

"No, really, according to my databanks that style compares favorably to your facial structure and hairstyle."

"…What?"

"O-Oh, umm, the color goes great with your eyes?"

"Really? Okay I'll buy it!"

As Neru pranced off towards the register, Len gently felt the fabric of the ruffled top she had haphazardly thrown back on top of the rack. He remembered Rin had worn the shirt when she took him to see some fireworks last year. What was she doing now? Still losing her allowance to Luka? He chuckled and shook away the thought. No, maybe she'd be curled up on the couch watching a movie with everyone else.

Usually on the weekends he, Rin, and Mr. Kagamine would spend the night watching a movie together. Rin almost always feel asleep on his lap right before the end of the movie, which he never understood why because that was when the most action happened. Then he would carry her to her room while Mr. Kagamine cleaned up, and Rin would protest weakly about wanting to know what happened.

Come to think of it, this was the first weekend in years that he did not spend with Rin. It felt so… strange. Every other minute he'd find something that would remind him of her. Was it because he felt guilty leaving her behind? No, she had Meiko and the others there… yet he still couldn't shake off that unsettling feeling. It also wasn't fair to Neru if he couldn't accommodate her because he was too distracted by Rin. Maybe if he brought something back for her that would ease his conscience. Rin did like those cinnamon rolls from the food court…

"Why is he still standing there?"

"I don't know… maybe he really wants to buy that shirt? Ow, Meiko!"

"Shh," Mr. Kagamine peered out from behind a mannequin, whose pose he was futilely trying to imitate, "Quick, they're on the move again!" He pointed to the exit where Neru was pulling Len out by the arm.

"Dad this really has to stop, there's no point in follo-"

"Not now Rin, they're getting away!" Rin sighed as she and the rest of the group was once again yanked by their collars and forced to follow the unbeknownst pair.

* * *

"It seems as if they're buying movie tickets."

"Which movie? Can you tell?"

"Gakupo, go find out."

"Sir, this is hardly-ACK!" the lavender haired scientist grumbled as he was forcefully kicked from their hiding spot. Today definitely was not his day. "Kami-sama, I beg you kill me now." At least the impressive salary and job perks made up for all the humiliation suffered today... sort of. He quickly straightened himself and brushed off any stray leaves or twigs before marching towards his targets, head down and shoulders hunched so as not to be too recognizable.

"Oof!" Len grunted as an older man suddenly bumped into them, causing him to draw their tickets.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Neru stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, terribly sorry," the man rasped out in a voice that sounded awkwardly familiar, "Here." He took his time in retrieving the tickets, refusing to look them in the eye.

Something so familiar... Len's eyes widened when he saw the intricate, golden band on the man's left ring finger. Len had been the bearer of a very similar ring two years ago. A flash of lavender hair straying from his hat reaffirmed Len's suspicions. "Professor-?"

"OOH silly me!" the man startled them by suddenly yelping and hurrying in the opposite direction, "Look at the time! My dear wife said I had to be home in time for dinner and it's already 6, CIAO!"

"What a weird guy," Neru quirked an eyebrow at the stranger, "Anyways, let's go grab our seats. … Hey, hello? Hellooo? Earth to Len, are you in there?"

"Huh?" Len snapped out of his reverie and blushed, "Yeah, hah, sorry. Thought he was someone I knew."

"You're so weird," Neru giggled in falsetto, "Hurry up, we'll miss the show!"

"So? What did you find out?" Mr. Kagamine barely gave Gakupo time to exhale before he began badgering him for answers. Luka rubbed her husband's shoulders soothingly.

"They're going to see 'Magnet'."

"Magnet?" Luka's eyes lit up as she stopped massaging, much to Gakupo's chagrin, and clasped her hands together dreamily, "That movie, how romantic!"

Rin, Meiko, and Kaito looked at each other. "Never heard of it!"

Luka sighed disappointedly, "Of course you kids have no taste. It's a remake of an 1980's classic of the same name. It's about about three characters: Mio, Mizuki, and Katsuki. The heroine, Mio, is from a rich family, yet despite having wealth and luxuries, she acts very bitter and resentful. Her cousin Mizuki, on the other hand, was orphaned after her parents were killed in an accident, but continues to smile kindly. Mizuki falls in love with her young teacher, Mr. Katsuki, and they begin a secret relationship. Mio, however, feels jealous of Mizuki's happiness, and attempts to break them up, but along the way she ends up falling for Katsuki too! But then she finds out that they are half-siblings! Such drama!"

"Oh please," Meiko rolled her eyes.

"I think it sounds kind of sweet?" Kaito shrugged, "Maybe somewhat cliché and predictable..."

"Either way, we're watching it," Rin pointed at her father, who was returning with 6 ticket stubs in his hands.

* * *

Neru's eyebrow couldn't stop twitching. She had chunks of popcorn, wrappers, and ice cream drippings in her hair. And to make matters worse, for the past 40 minutes the people sitting behind her could not be any more annoying. How was she supposed to get close to Len like this?

"UH HUH, HUH, HUH," one of the trench coated individuals behind her coughed obnoxiously as she tried to nudge her arm against Len's, "Sorry, excuse me, please enjoy the movie."

"Whoops! My hand slipped."

"Oh, I didn't see you two there! My bad."

"HEY!" she finally snapped, startling several others when she leapt up from her seat, "What's the big idea? You've been bothering us this entire time, do you guys have something against us or what?"

"Neru, it's fine, they probably didn't mean to..." Len tried to pull her back down, smiling awkwardly at curious onlookers.

"Honestly, some people," Neru huffed and plopped back down next to him, "They can be so rude." And so creepy, too. She had seen those 6 trenchcoat-wearing, sunglass-and-mustache wielding weirdos following them around all day. Were they Len's secret body guards or something? She knew Len was the heir to a pretty big corporation, but she didn't think his safety was _that_ much of a concern, was it?

**"You? Love him? Hah! Don't make me laugh."**

**"I do, Mio. I... I want to marry him."**

**"He's your teacher, that's not allowed."**

**"The same goes for you. Isn't he's your half-brother?"**

**"What...? How did you know?"**

**"I've known for a while, Mio. I've seen how you look at him when you think no one is watching, and I'll tell you this now: I'm not going to give up on him."**

"_I'm not giving up on you, son."_

Len's entire body tensed. No, not the visions again. Not at a time like this!

_The room was once again dark, except for a window near the ceiling that allowed the dim, silvery rays of the moon to illuminate the chamber with their fragile presence. This time the gray-haired boy was on a bed, so sterile and white. It contrasted starkly with the somber feel of the rest of the room. He was hooked up to many wires, making it doubtable that his body could even live on its own. His face, his skin, were so sunken and grim in their pallor... but the only thing still indicating vivacity was his eyes. His irises burned vividly crimson, so full of seething hate, frustration, and absolute raw emotion that one would presume they were the eyes of a vengeful lion, not an ill, sickly boy._

_Like in the last vision, there was only one door to the room, and when it opened the same man stood in its frame. He looked more haggard this time, his face set in a firmer, more despondent manner._

_Neither father nor son said a word. The father moved first, striding quietly and meticulously to his son's side, sitting right next to the mechanism that pumped fluids that regulated and monitored the boy's condition._

_It was the son who finally broke the silence, "They have no more treatments."_

_"...I know."_

_"I cannot be cured."_

_"I know."_

_"...You are disappointed."_

_"..."_

_"You don't speak it, but I know you are," beneath the weakness of his voice were tones of mockery, anger._

_"I am not angry," the man replied carefully, "But vindicated that a son of mine would have to suffer such a fate, but if that wicked mother of yours hadn't been so weak... You should have been strong... should have been the envy of all."_

_"So much for lofty dreams," the boy sneered._

_It was silent again. After a long pause, the man rose and spoke in a strange tone, half-strangled and half-calculating, "I promised that you shall be great... and you will. But for now, you must sleep."_

_Crimson eyes widened in horror as he watched the hand of the one who created him slowly reach for the plug in the wall. _"_F-father, you..."_

"_In time, Dell. You will come back in time."_

_"N-NO! STOP!"_

_He couldn't succumb to death like this... not in this way! He didn't want to die!  
_

"NO!" Len suddenly yelled out and gripped the arms of his chair tightly, beads of sweat forming lightly on his brow.

"L-Len...?"

The blonde haired boy looked down to find his hand firmly holding Neru's. He yelped surprisedly and yanked the offending limb back as if he had accidentally touched some dangerous maerial, "S-sorry. Movie's getting pretty dramatic."

Neru glanced down at her lap, a heavy blush staining her cheeks, "I-It's fine."

Rin couldn't believe her eyes. Len had actually reached out and grabbed Neru's hand on his own accord. So it was true then... he really was developing feelings for others, not just her... Who was she to tie him to her? She felt her hands grow cold.

"He sure moves fast," Luka put a hand over her mouth.

Rin looked over at the secretary and was slightly shocked to find the professor and her father missing. On the other side, Kaito was busy trying to restrain a fuming Meiko.

"What the heck does Len think he's doing? That girl is way below his league!"

"Luka, where's my dad?"

"He fainted, Gakupo took him out."

"Oh, I see..."

**"Leave me alone, Katsuki! Go back to Mizuki!"**

**"Mio... Please stop crying, I don't want to see tears in your eyes."**

**"You... No, you love Mizuki. Is this some sick joke to try and get back at me? Go back to her. She's waiting for you. I've already apologized for everything I've done, now let me atone."**

**"I've always loved you, Mio. But I couldn't tell you. How could I? We're half-siblings, it's forbidden. I was only supposed to watch you from afar, to protect you, out of obligation to our late father. But my feelings have grown since then; I... I don't want to be away from you anymore."**

**"K-Katsuki..."**

* * *

"Ah, that movie was so sweet, don't you think Len? At first I was pissed at Mio for being so selfish and spoiled, but when she realized she was in love with Katsuki... EEE!"

"Yeah..." The movie had just ended and everyone was filing out of the theaters. Neru continued to rave about the movie, clinging tightly onto Len's arm and giving any girl who passed by a death glare if they even so much as glanced at Len. But Len didn't focus on what she was saying or where they were going. The vision kept replaying over and over in his head and it made him feel so numb, so shaken.

"I had a great time," Neru turned and shyly twirled a lock of her hair.

"Me too..."

"Thanks again for today," she purred. Looking around to see if any girls were looking, which they were, Neru smirked and quickly leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek. Instantly, Len's somewhat distant expression changed to shock. Neru winked and waved, leaving the blonde boy still staring dumbfounded. "I'll see you at school Monday!"

Did Neru just kiss him? Really kiss him? He had never been "kissed" by anyone other than Rin before... why did it feel so weird? He rubbed a hand on his cheek, mind racing through databanks trying to search for some sort of answer. What was he supposed to do now?

"The date is over?"

Mr. Kagamine groaned and rubbed his head, Gakupo handing him a small cold pack to hold against his temple. They were outside sitting on a bench some ways away from Len and Neru, watching the two say their goodbyes.

"Yup, nothing happened," Luka reported, "Len holding her hand for that brief moment during the movie is all he did."

"I still can't believe this..."

"Len is a responsible person," Rin suddenly interjected, "He's still a person, despite all those genetic modifications. He still has wants like all of us, and if he wants to go on a date then it's wrong for you to stop him, Dad. If he can take care of me then he can surely take care of himself."

"Rin..." Kaito and Meiko looked unsuredly at her.

Mr. Kagamine looked stunned. Gakupo and Luka glanced downward, unsure of what to say next.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, Mr. Kagamine spoke, "She's right... I see that it's time you two are growing up. These shenanigans are just annoyances, huh? Come, let's all get back to the house before he notices." The rest of the group nodded and followed his lead, all ready to leave behind today's events and just unwind.

Rin was the last one to start leaving. She stayed rooted to her spot for a little bit longer, unable to get a certain mental image out of her head.

She had seen Neru kiss Len.

It was no big deal, really, but Rin still wished she hadn't seen it. It was just so wrong... Len wasn't Neru's. Len was _her_ friend, _her_ brother, _her_ companion, _her_ Vocaloid- he was made for her and her _alone_. He wasn't made for Neru, Miku, or any other girl! Rin's shoulders shook. She wanted to sink to her knees and start crying, but she didn't know why. All she knew was that she couldn't... She couldn't tell anyone how she was feeling. She was treating Len as if he was a toy or random item she bought off the shelf! Getting jealous because someone else had him; so what? He was his own person, he didn't _belong_ to anyone. He was created to be her _brother_, not her lover...

No, no more. She couldn't think about this anymore. Rin dug her nails deep into her palms, bringing about pain that would stifle any tears should they drop. There was no use in crying anymore.

As everyone began to depart, Len walked idly along the sidewalk, not exactly paying attention to where he was going but being careful enough not to bump into anyone.

"Len!"

The boy looked up when he heard his name called. A little ways down the street was a familiar, teal haired girl, smiling and calling him over. Turquoise eyes widened. "Miku?" She nodded and made a beckoning motion with her hands.

It really was her! Len waved and jogged over to where she was, "Hey! Funny running in to you here. What're you doing?"

Miku blinked and smiled, holding up several bags filled with household knickknacks, "My sister wants to redecorate the apartment, so she sent me to pick up some things. What about you?"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "I was just hanging out with someone."

"I see," she said, bemused, "Say, are you busy right now? Do you want to go to a cafe? My feet are killing me and I'd really like to sit down."

Len though for a moment and glanced at his watch. It was 6, which was around dinner time for him. His stomach let out a small rumble of agreement. He blushed and quickly slapped a hand over it, "Y-Yeah, I am kind of hungry."

Miku giggled. Her laughter sounded just like bells, "Come on, I know the perfect place."

They walked together for another 15 minutes, making small talk and commenting on each other's recent escapades. They arrived at a small but charming restaurant where the waitress seated them by a window.

"What can I get for you two?" she held her pen and pad poised and ready to go.

"I'd like the potato and leek soup," Miku said politely, "With extra leeks on top please. And a glass of water."

Len was mildly surprised she'd ask for such a dish. Weren't girls usually adverse to all vegetables related to the onion? "I'll just have the banana French toast, with an iced tea."

The waitress nodded and quickly went to fetch their drinks.

"So," Len sipped at his drink, "Have you lived here in Crypton your entire life?"

Miku shook her head, "I used to live in Tokyo with my sister and brother. My dad worked here in Crypton, though, but he rarely ever came home. He's a bit of a workaholic. He wanted us to be closer to him, so I came here last year with my sister and we've been living in town ever since."

"Kind of sounds like my family. My Dad works a lot too, haha. What are your siblings like?"

"My sister is 21. She works a lot, a trait she probably inherited from my dad haha, and can be kind of whiny, but she's very kind and gets everything done when it needs to be done. I think you'd like her a lot."

"What about your brother?"

Suddenly, the mood became very tense. Miku didn't say anything and looked down, silently wringing her napkin between her hands. Len gelt a lump form in his throat. Had he said something he shouldn't have?

"Hey, Miku, I'm sorry if I offende-"

"I haven't seen him in over a year," her voice was incredibly quiet, "Before we moved to Crypton... my father and he got into an argument over his future, which my dad wanted to be in science. My brother, unfortunately, had other plans and walked out on us... He's... He's not someone who can be trusted, Len." Her face grew dark as a torrent of emotions suddenly began to flash across her stunning, green eyes, the most prominent of which Len noticed was hurt and betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Len whispered, looking down too. He wasn't sure how to act and felt as if propriety demanded he touch her hand in reassurance, so he did.

At the contact, Miku sobered once again, "Forgive me, I got a little upset there."

"It's fine," Len smiled, "Sometimes it's better to let things out."

"What about you, Len?" Miku leaned in closer and folded her hands under her chin, "Tell me about your family."

* * *

**Oh** no! Len's getting closer and closer to Miku... what will happen x3? I hope I haven't gotten too rusty ; u;. Since I'm finally on summer break the next chapter will hopefully be out soon! But remember to leave a review to keep me motivated hehe xD.

Wow, can you believe I've been working on this story for almost a year now? Time really does fly... Also, this chapter was 6,000 words! Good grief... I don't believe I've ever written so much for one thing before. It was actually going to be a little longer but I cut stuff out and skipped over some details LOL.

Anyways I'll shut up now -goes to collapse on bed-.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note-** Aaahh nooo... SCHOOL STARTED AGAIN! Well, more like college lol. I'm so miserable now orz. It's actually not that bad but... I'm still miserable LOL wah. Also, you know what I just realized? I tend to write more when I'm busy rather than when I'm free. HA! Go figure. I also tend to write a lot more when it's horribly late at night and no living thing in its right mind would be awake, but I guess it's better that way because nobody is around to bother me. Then again that's sort of a double-edged sword in that I get too tired to proofread and just upload the chapter without properly editing and whatnot. EH.

Well anyways, I'll shut up about me and move on to more fic-related things. New characters are introduced this chapter, yaaah! Some of you already predicted who it would be and all I have to say is WHY ARE YOU GUYS SO SMART lol. Ruining the surprise... no I'm kidding haha. Things also take an "interesting" turn (well, at least I think it's interesting, then again I'm a crazy person who talks to herself SOBSOB) so all in all I hope you guys enjoy! -showers everyone with so much loves- By the way, do you guys actually read author's notes? I find that most of the time I skip over most of them especially if they're super long (LIKE THIS ONE orz) LOL waah horrible person I know. Ok on with the update.

* * *

The rain fell in smooth torrents down the window as Rin watched it from her chair, a mug of steaming hot tea nearby. She had prepared it herself for once: the several bandages she sported on her right hand giving testimony to that fact. Usually Len boiled the water for her, but ever since she resolved to do things herself several days ago asking him was out of the question… although she probably should have known that the pot would be hot and that she'd need to protect her hand with a towel.

It disgusted her slightly how dependent she had become on him, how basically useless she was by herself. For crying out loud, she could barely boil _water_.

And Len was probably feeling a bit lost himself. When he had stumbled upon an already awake Rin two weeks ago, he had been very surprised, even more so when she brushed past him and started preparing her own breakfast, which consisted of a meager repast of cereal and milk. She even did her homework and chores without asking him for any help whatsoever, at which point he confronted and examined her for fever or delusion.

"_What's wrong with you?" Len stood and spread his arms in front of Rin, blocking her passage through the hall._

"_Wrong with me?" Rin stopped in her tracks, "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong… You're in the way, Len."_

_But he stayed firm, "No. Are you feeling alright? You've been so quiet. It… it feels kind of like you're avoiding me." He looked down, embarrassed._

"_Avoiding you?" she raised a brow in interest, "How can I? We live in the same house."_

_Len shook his head, "Even though we live together it's like you're not even there anymore! You've been waking up by yourself instead of waiting for me, and then you sneak off somewhere... even at school! And usually you ask for my help when doing chores or homework and you've done neither. Heck, you won't even look me in the eye when we talk!"_

_And just like he said, Rin averted her gaze, "W-What, do you think I'm supposed to be like a baby or something? I have to wait for you to do everything for me? Dad said I needed to learn to be independent so now I'm trying to be, but you just won't leave me alone! Can't I have my space?"_

_A sudden, dark emotion flashed across Len's eyes._

_Rin felt her breath catch in her throat. Had she said too much? "S-Sorry..." She rubbed her arm unsurely, "Well… Nothing's wrong."_

"_Did... Did I do something? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," when she said nothing, Len stepped up and tentatively placed his hands on her shoulders, "Please Rin, tell me so I can fix it right away! I don't want you to be mad at me…"_

_Rin was slightly taken aback at the hint of desperation in his voice and the earnestness of his eyes. "I… I told you it was nothing Len! Everything's fine. Stop worrying, ok? I just wanted to start doing some things by myself, that's all." And with that she wriggled out of his grasp before brushing past him and continuing down the hall._

_Len continued to stand in the abandoned hallway, staring rooted at the spot Rin had been standing only moments before. Slowly, he lowered his hands and slumped against the wall._

The antique grandfather clock in the living room struck seven times, indicating to Rin that it was about time to head out. By now the rain had began to let up, allowing her to hear exactly how quiet the vast estate really was. Her ears perked to the sound of shuffling in the hallway. Len was probably looking for her again, which actually was a surprisingly difficult task even for the Vocaloid. The Kagamine mansion was a massively large estate, equipped with more lounging areas, kitchens, and other facilities than a simple family of three would ever need. Thus, to avoid Len every morning all Rin had to do was switch up the rooms she used.

Very quietly she slipped out the room and to the hallway, taking a series of detours and shortcuts, making sure Len was nowhere in sight. It wasn't really as if Rin was trying to avoid Len because she didn't want to see his face… she just couldn't trust herself to. Every time she saw him grinning at her with that stupid, goofy face of his it made her forget why she was even angry with him in the first place, and how could she distance herself if she constantly wanted to be close to him?

"Rin!"

And there he was, right on cue. The one thing Rin never managed to do was leave the house without Len knowing. Somehow, no matter what he was doing before, he'd always appear rushing down the hall or at her side before she even had the chance to put her shoes on.

"There you are," Len huffed as she settled down beside her, "Where were you? Did you have breakfast yet? H-Hey wait up!"

Rin turned and sighed as the vocaloid hurried to pull his loafers on, "I have class duty this morning, Len, and if I don't hurry I'm going to be late."

"Right!" the boy nodded and picked up his things.

Together they left the house, Rin a little ways ahead of a very confused Len. As they passed by a pond, Rin glanced at their reflection and couldn't help but smirk a little bit. She looked just like a mama duck leading along her awkward little duckling, who in this case was Len. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him stumble on a raised crack in the pavement and tried her best to suppress another smirk. The way he was stumbling along tailing her was just so adorable...

"No!" the young girl suddenly stopped and shook her head vigorously. She wasn't supposed to think such thoughts anymore!

"Ow! Rin?" Len didn't have enough time to react to her abrupt halt and accidentally bumped into her backside.

"S-Sorry," she said, shaking herself from such thoughts before continuing on the path. A moment later she heard Len shuffle along also, no doubt more confused than he already was.

She frowned and looked up at the sky. Was she being too mean to him? Brushing him off so casually like that… It wasn't like she was trying to make it seem that way, but hey, maybe a little unintentional hatred would help get her point across…? No, that was terrible, absolutely terrible! But… if she didn't, then how long would this charade have to go on for? Exactly what was she trying to do again?

"Rin?"

"Huh?" for the second time that day, she stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the boy who had called her.

Len quirked an eyebrow at her and pointed at the sheltered bench behind them, "You know, the bus stop is over here?"

"Oh!" Rin couldn't help but blush with embarrassment, "Right…" she went and joined her vocaloid in standing under the bench's battered but still functional covering. There seemed to be an unusually large amount of people waiting for the bus today, which was pretty explainable since the price of gasoline had risen in the past few months. People were more and more encouraged to use public transportation, which was good for the environment but bad for Rin. She frowned at the thought of having to be squeezed in the middle of a heaving, sweaty mass of bodies, and with this many people it'd be nothing less than a stampede trying to find a good spot.

Rin felt a prickling sensation along the back of her neck and shuddered. She felt as if she was being watched by something not too friendly. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a flash of teal. Miku? Rin quickly whirled around, only to be met face to face with a middle-aged businessman leering at her from behind one of the posts.

"H-How gross!" she squealed indignantly and instinctively moved closer to Len.

"What's the matter?" the slightly taller teen looked down at his "sister" and subconsciously wound an arm protectively about her shoulders.

"That creepy guy was looking at me," she hissed and peeked out from over his arm.

Len frowned and drew her closer, "Just don't pay attention to him."

Rin nodded and squeaked again when she realized she had been clutching tightly onto Len's shirt, "Sorry," she muttered before brusquely separating herself from him. At the same time she could have sworn a slightly saddened expression had flashed across his face.

"It's ok," he said, "But the bus is almost here. Get ready to find a good spot."

And just as he finished his sentence, the automobile slowed to a creaky stop before them. Rin frowned as she looked through the windows. Looks like almost all the seats were taken. Beside her, several women clutching satchel upon satchel of groceries slowly pushed towards the edge of the sidewalk, all eager to grab a decent seat on the bus, their feet no doubt aching from fighting one another in the early morning market.

As soon as the bus doors wheezed open, it was every man for himself. Somehow Rin had managed to worm her way into a rather nice spot in the corner next to a window, and although it was a standing spot (all the seats had been taken) she didn't mind. She had lost track of Len but that was alright. She'd meet up with him at school anyways.

To say the bus was crowded was an understatement. The thing was practically crammed to the brim with bodies, all squished together uncomfortably in one another's body heat. With so many people on one bus Rin couldn't help but wonder how exactly the poor thing could even move, but her musing was cut short when she felt a hand fluttering at her skirt. Instantly, her entire being stiffened as she saw from the reflection on the window that the man who had been leering at her earlier was slowly inching closer to her. Mortified, Rin looked about wildly for any safe space she could squeeze in to, away from his lecherous grasp. She tried to look for a familiar mop of golden hair when she felt a calloused hand stroke the back of her thigh, just under where her skirt ended.

Rin's entire face reddened with anger. T-That perverted bastard! Just as she turned to slap him in the face, his other hand caught Rin's wrist and pulled her even closer to him. "My, you're a feisty little cutie," he sneered, eyes drifting down to her budding chest. Her eyes widened in horror. Since they were in the back corner of the bus, nobody took notice of their actions.

"N-NO!" she attempted to scream before he clasped his hand over her mouth, "Len-!"

The man suddenly cried out in pain as his hand was yanked backwards. Several of the bus's passengers turned around to see what the commotion was about and saw a blonde, teenage boy twisting a man's arm behind his back and another blonde girl huddled in the corner of the bus. With his other arm, the boy pulled the girl to his side.

"Sorry sir," Len narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man, "But aren't you too old to be doing things like this?"

"Len…" Rin breathed a sigh of relief and held onto his shirt. He smiled and gently placed an arm securely about her waist.

"Tch," the man winced and retreated from Len's grip, "Stupid punk." As he moved to the opposite corner of the bus, many passengers shot him dirty looks and stayed as far away as possible. Rin stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him.

"Are you alright?" Len studied her wrist for any signs of bruising.

Rin blushed slightly, "Yeah," Len's body was pressed flush against her backside, one arm still secured about her waist for support, "Thanks." Len nodded and turned to look out the window, leaving Rin alone with her thoughts. She could feel her cheeks getting redder with each passing moment. Len was so close to her… she could practically feel his warm breath fanning the back of her neck, the firm features of his abdomen molding to her back… She wanted to stay like this: just her and her vocaloid- no Miku, no Neru, no anyone to take him away from her.

Exactly when did she start falling in love with Len? Perhaps it was so gradual she never even really noticed until someone threatened to take him away. They always said that one would never know how important something was until it was gone. But then again, did she even know what love was? She was only 14, almost 15, and had barely any interaction with any members of the opposite sex aside from Len, Kaito, her father, and Professor Gakupo; so could the feelings she had for Len really be love? Or was it something else? Some possessiveness spawned from an inner fear of being alone?

A cold feeling washed over her. Was she afraid of losing Len not because she actually loved him, but because she was afraid of being alone? If so, then she didn't deserve him at all.

"Hey," a gentle voice muttered in her ear, "You look troubled. Everything alright?"

Rin tilted her head upwards and caught sight of Len leaning over her, a soft expression on his face. Instantly, she felt that weird, fluttery feeling rise from the pit of her stomach. "Nn," Rin nodded and turned away, embarrassed by their proximity, but Len continued to smile and rest his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much," he whispered, "I'll always be around to make sure nobody tries anything weird like that guy just now, ok?"

Rin just stared at the floor, bangs hiding her expression. "Always…?"

"Yeah, always."

Neither Kagamine said anything after that. Maybe, Rin thought as she relaxed into his embrace, just for now she'd let herself believe his words.

* * *

"That filthy bastard!" Meiko smacked a fist against her palm, "And you just let him get away? I would have smashed his face in and then some!"

Kaito placed a hand on the brunette's shoulder in a frail attempt to calm her but nodded nonetheless, "Although I usually don't agree with using violence, public molestation is a highly reproachful act and Rin shouldn't have been subject to such mistreatment."

"Yeah, should have given him the old one two!" Meiko pumped a fist in the air to emphasize her point.

Rin had just finished recounting the morning's events to her friends and was now following silently along, a slight smirk on her lips. She was imagining in her mind how the scene would have played out if they had been there and giggled.

Len rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at his friends' suggestions, "I didn't really want to cause any more trouble than there already was."

"You definitely could have taken him on, eh Len?" Meiko nudged the younger boy in the ribs, "A nasty old guy like that wouldn't have stood a chance against you!"

"W-Well, like I said, I wouldn't have wanted to-"

"Oh, there's the bell," Kaito said as that familiar yet dreaded tune chimed through the halls.

Meiko sighed, "Well, catch you guys later!"

The four friends said their goodbyes and went their separate ways: Meiko and Kaito heading upstairs to the junior classrooms and Rin and Len going lower to their own homerooms. As the students filed into their seats, Rin settled into her spot by the window. She really liked her seat, mostly because it offered a different form of entertainment if she ever got bored of listening to the teacher. Down below, kids from 1st period P.E. were getting ready and doing their morning stretches. A little ways down the track Rin could see Kei-sensei getting ready with his whistle. Grimacing, she wondered what form of punishment he would execute for them today. All in all, everything seemed relatively normal. The same faces, the same routine...

"Is this English 1 with Miss Ann?"

Rin looked up at the unfamiliar voice.

There, standing in the doorway was a tall, slender youth with finely sculpted features. He had slightly disheveled teal-hair that was tied back in a long, low ponytail by means of a red and black band. His face was smooth and unblemished yet defined at the same time. He looked to be about the same build as Len, if not a few centimeters taller. But what struck Rin the most were his piercing, emerald eyes. So many emotions seemed to range behind the mysterious irises, drawing curious onlookers closer and closer... Wait, teal hair? Green eyes?

"Mikuo...?"

All eyes turned to the new speaker, who in this case was Miku Hatsune. Rin noted that her skin had suddenly become incredibly pale.

"Yes, this is the right class," Miss Ann said as she eyed the foreign student, "Are you a new transfer?"

"Yes," the boy smiled and bowed lightly, "My name is Mikuo Hatsune. I just transferred here from Tokyo."

"Mikuo Hatsune?" another boy piped up, "No way, are you related to Hatsune Miku-chan over there?"

Mikuo nodded and widened his smile, "Yes, I'm her younger brother. Well, younger twin brother to be more precise."

"Eh? Really? You must be super smart then! As expected, your sister is a freaking genius too."

"No," Mikuo laughed, "I assure you, we couldn't possibly compare..."

"Liar! You're probably being modest!"

"Say, if you're her younger brother why were you in Tokyo?"

"That? Oh, well even though we're twins we were living with separate guardians because our parents split up."

"Alright, that's enough for now," Miss Ann clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, "You can get to know each other later on. Mikuo, if you could take that seat over there by the window, please, so that I may begin the lesson. Thank you."

The teacher was once again interrupted by a chair being scraped back against the floor. Miku stood over her desk, shoulders visibly shaking. "Miss Ann, I don't feel so well, may I be excused?"

"My, you certainly look pale. Did you have something weird for breakfast?"

"I-It would seem so..."

She nodded, "You may go, but be careful on your way there."

"Poor Miku... She's probably in shock from seeing her brother again after so long."

"That's so sad! I feel for her!"

Len glanced worriedly after his friend as she rushed through the door, stumbling slightly as she passed Mikuo. Len didn't miss the brief smirk that crossed the boy's face.

"Miss Ann," Len raised a hand, "May I accompany her?"

"You know I don't like when students miss my lessons," she looked at him skeptically from above her glasses, "But seeing as how ill Miss Hatsune is I'll agree to it this one time."

"Thank you," Len bowed and quickly ran out the room after his classmate. He found her slumped against a wall with a hand over her mouth, "Hey, Miku, take it easy."

The girl looked up when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Len...?"

He flashed a pearly-white grin at her and helped her to her feet, "I was worried about you so I asked Miss Ann to let me accompany you to the nurse. Is that ok?"

Miku's expression softened, "Yeah, thanks."

"No problem!" Len offered her his arm, which she took, and together they headed towards the nurse's office. For the most part their walk was completely silent, but Len couldn't help but voice what had been on his mind, "So..." he began, his voice barely above a whisper, "I know this is a very personal question, but that kid back there... is he the brother you told me about that one time? The one that couldn't be trusted?"

A pause passed between them.

"...Yes," Miku whispered, "That's him."

Len frowned, "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know..." Miku bit her lip and gripped his arm tighter, "But the one thing I can tell you is that it definitely isn't good."

* * *

"Miku Hatsune's brother?"

Rin nodded and leaned back in her chair, "Yup, I didn't believe it either, but there's no doubt about it. I just hope he doesn't act like her." Currently they were sitting in their world history class with Miss Ann. Rin had her earlier for English and homeroom, which she thought was unfair, having to suffer the same teacher twice in one day.

"That's interesting," Teto said as she placed a finger to her lips. Even though they were the same grade level, Teto and Rin were in different classes so she hadn't had a chance to meet the rumored second-Miku yet.

Suddenly Rin's chair slammed against the floor again as she pulled her friend in closer, "That's him!"

Teto's eyes grew wide as the classroom door slid open to reveal the aforementioned youth. Just as Rin said, he did look an awful lot like Miku, except something about him seemed a lot darker, much more mysterious than his sister.

"Oh, you're in this class too, Mikuo?" Miss Ann exclaimed, "How wonderful! Let's see… hm, it seems the only open seat we have is in the back row behind Miss Kagamine over there. It's a window seat. Miss Kagamine, could you please raise your hand?"

"Hai-" Rin was about to say when that sudden, familiar prickling sensation from earlier today once again ran down her neck- the same sensation that she was being watched. She froze and looked about feverishly, searching for the source of her paranoia.

"Something the matter, Miss Kagamine?" Miss Ann raised a brow at the somewhat frantic looking girl. The rest of the class turned to observe the girl as well.

"N-No," Rin gently shook her head and resettled into her seat, "S-Sorry Miss Ann."

The teacher nodded, but Rin couldn't stop shaking. Just now, she could have sworn it was Mikuo who had been staring so intently at her. But when she looked back up at him, he casually strolled over to his seat and sat down, not a single trace of an intimidating aura to be found.

"Anyways, like I was saying, there will be a group project for this unit," Miss Ann continued, "You will work with an assigned partner that I will choose for you- that means there will be absolutely no switching of partners. After I announce the names you are welcome to go and discuss with your partner for the remainder of the period. Now, starting off: Teto!"

"Yes?"

"You will be paired with… Ted."

The two redheads glanced at each other and blushed almost as dark as their matching hair colors. It was no secret that the two had enormous crushes on one another.

"Rin, you will be partnered with… Mikuo!"

Instantly, Rin felt the envy of several of her female classmates digging into her spine. W-What? Her, with Mikuo? No way; she wanted nothing to do with either Hatsune sibling. Plus, Rin already got enough crap for being near Len and Kaito, who were apparently the star heartthrobs of both grade levels. "Miss Ann, can I-"

"I said there would be absolutely no changing of partners, Rin Kagamine."

She frowned. How did she know? Guess there really was no helping it. Mustering up most of her courage, Rin sighed and attempted to smile, "Hi, I guess we're going to be partners for this assignment."

Mikuo crossed his arms over his chest, "Obviously."

Rin's eyebrow twitched. Rude, much? "Um, so…"

"Don't think I want to make friends with you."

The blonde-haired girl was taken aback by his sudden declaration. "E-Excuse me?"

"This is an assignment and you are my partner, nothing more," Mikuo reiterated, seemingly annoyed that he had to clarify his statement, "Wasting time and effort on personal subjects benefits neither party, so I suggest focusing solely on the task at hand rather than useless pursuits."

What the heck was this kid's problem? All she did was say hi, and he practically dissed her right in her face. Holding an urge to snap back at him, Rin grit her teeth and smiled, "That's fine."

"What is your current grade in the class?"

"W-What?" this kid just got weirder and weirder, "Isn't that considered personal information?"

"Average? Below average? Failing?"

Now Rin really wanted to slap him. "HEY! I'm passing, ok! Why does it matter?"

"You're not the type who studies in an organized and timely manner, are you," he frowned, "You probably don't even study if not forced. Usually those who are confident in their scholastic prowess would respond to my question immediately, if not first put off by modesty. You became irritated and hesitant, showing a lack of belief and therefore academic ability, which probably means that doing well on this project would greatly behoove your grade. Unfortunately, if you and I were to study by ourselves and then try to compile the information it would be both inefficient and disastrous. The best alternative then would be for us to study together so that I may concurrently oversee your activities."

All noise in the classroom suddenly ceased as Rin slammed her hands onto Mikuo's desk and glared at him, "Who the hell do you think you are, saying stuff like that? This is your first day and you're already acting like a snooty brat! If the teacher weren't here I would have already slapped you back to first grade to could relearn some proper manners! Sure I might not be the best student but that doesn't give you any right to act all holier-than-thou on me, and if this continues then I guarantee that I'll become exactly the horrible, nightmare of a student you 'presume' me to be, got it?"

"What on earth is going on here?" Miss Ann rose from her desk to survey the scene before her.

Mikuo blinked in mild surprise before bursting out in laughter. Rin as well as everyone else in the class was taken aback at this unexpected turn of events.

"H-Hey," Rin blushed and tried once again to look serious, "What are you laughing at?"

"Very interesting, Rin Kagamine," Mikuo wiped a tear from his eye, "This might be more fun than I expected. Be at the library at 2pm this Saturday; if you're even a minute late I'll deduct points."

"Points?"

"On the grading rubric," he held up the slip of paper and rolled his eyes mockingly again, "There is a spot for each of us to grade one another's performances to ensure 'fairness'. Isn't that right, Miss Ann?"

The teacher looked surprised when the class turned to look at her, "Err, well, yes…"

Mikuo smirked and placed his hands behind his head, "Right, so unless you're otherwise occupied, which I highly doubt you are, I suggest you show up on time, ne Rin-chan?" He ended the statement with one of the most sickeningly sweet and obviously fake smiles Rin had ever seen.

Oh, this brat was seriously asking for it.

* * *

"And then he had the audacity to call me Rin-_chan_! Can you believe that jerk?" Rin huffed as she slammed the door of her locker shut. Currently they were in the girl's locker room getting ready for P.E.

"Maybe that's just his weird way of being friendly?" Kasane Teto shut her locker closed as well and went to walk with her friend to the quad area, where they met and assembled in roll call lines.

"I doubt it," Rin snorted, "Whatever, I just hope I don't have to see his snobby little face for the rest of the day."

"Rin! Teto!"

Both girls looked up to see Kaito and Meiko waving them over. Before Rin could wonder where Len was, she saw him off to the side speaking to Miku about something. Miku had a weird expression on her face, but Rin didn't have the chance to study it for much longer since Len drew her in for a comforting hug. Her expression faltered, but that was to be expected. Len and Miku had been spending more and more time in each other's companies over the past few weeks, and especially since this morning they seemed to be closer than usual.

"Why the long face, squirt?" Meiko grabbed Rin by the collar and pulled her into a headlock.

"Hey! Quit it!" Rin protested and struggled to free herself. Meiko laughed and dodged a blow to the gut before giving the younger girl a noogie.

"That new kid Mikuo transferred into Rin's history class and she doesn't like him one bit," Teto explained.

"Mikuo?" Meiko and Kaito blinked in unison, "Who's that?"

Rin was about to explain that he was the kid who came into their homeroom class this morning when she remembered Meiko and Kaito were upperclassmen. They were in a different class, "Oh, well, apparently he's Hatsune Miku's younger twin brother."

"Sounds a lot like you and Len," Meiko said.

"A new transfer this far into the semester?" Kaito raised a brow in surprise.

Rin nodded and attempted to smooth her omnipresent white ribbon, "Yup, and he's the biggest punk I've ever met. I swear if I see him again…"

"Is that him?"

Rin would have spit out her water had she been drinking any. Glancing in the direction Kaito was pointing to, Rin saw the new bane of her existence heading towards the roll call lines. "No way, he's in our P.E. period too." Several girls began whispering excitedly, wondering aloud if he would be just as athletic or "hot" as Len while working out.

"Not this again," Rin groaned.

"Alright kids," Kei-sensei yelled as he blew his oh-so-hated whistle, "Get in line and listen up! Since it was raining earlier this morning the field is all wet so we can't use that, so instead we'll be playing volleyball inside the gym. Ok now, 10 laps around the quad area for warm-up! Go!"

As usual, Kei-sensei's murderous "warm-up" routine commenced, with Len and Miku swiftly taking the lead; however, today they were joined by a third figure. Several girls nearly tripped over themselves while gaping at Mikuo. His pace was so fluid and agile; it looked almost as if he was flying with the way his feet were barely touching the ground. And just like Len and Miku, he completed every activity without even breaking a sweat.

"Oh look at him, he looks so cool like that!"

"Eee! Do you see those muscles on his arm?"

"I still think Len is cuter."

"No way! He's so five minutes ago; Mikuo's my new idol!"

"Well, well," Kei-sensei laughed as he clapped a hand on Mikuo's back, "I'm impressed, new kid. You said you were Miku's little brother?"

"Yes sir." the teal-haired boy smiled and bowed.

"Amazing athletic genes your family has got there. What I wouldn't do to have some like that," wiping the grin off his face, Kei-sensei turned to blow his whistle at the rest of the class, who was still struggling on their 7th lap. "Hurry up all of you! The longer you take, the less time you have to change at the end of the period!"

Rin wheezed and clung desperately to Teto's arm as they finished up the rest of their exercises. Even though they had been in school for a good month or so, Rin doubted she would ever get used to Kei-sensei's horrific warm-ups. Once everyone had finally caught their breath, they were organized into teams, and "luckily" for Rin she got to be paired up with Mikuo _again_. What was it, like the third time this day?

"Why, Kami-sama?" Rin prayed to the heavens above, "Why do you do this to me?"

"Oi, heads up!"

"Watch out, Rin!"

"Wah!"

Too absorbed in her own thoughts, Rin didn't notice that that game had already started. The ball came spiraling straight towards her, full force.

"RIN!" Len had heard her scream and whirled around, but she was two courts over. Nonetheless he dove under the net and scrambled to knock the ball out of the way.

In a last-ditch effort to defend herself Rin quickly shut her eyes and raised her arms, reluctantly awaiting impact. It never came, however. Slowly cracking an eye open, Rin saw Mikuo standing over her, holding the ball that would have hit her square in the face. That jerk saved her? For some reason, a hint of pink crept into her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" Len breathed as he reached the two of them. He glanced at Mikuo for a second and then stiffened, "Err… thanks for helping her."

"No problem," Mikuo smiled at Len. But instead of smiling back, Len eyed him distrustfully.

"I'm fine, Len," Rin said as she dusted herself off, "You should go back to your team now."

"But-"

"Just go, Len."

If he were a dog, Len would have drooped his ears and gone back with his tail between his legs, or at least that was the mental image Rin pictured as he left the court. She couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over her.

"You should really pay attention more, Kagamine," Mikuo jeered, a gallant smirk across his features, "If not in class then at least during situations where the risk of your brain damage worsening is significantly increased."

"I never asked for your help, thank you very much!" Rin huffed indignantly, "And if you hadn't stepped in the way I would have caught it anyways!"

"Yeah, with your face. I'd like my history partner to at least still be tolerable looking, but then again staring at someone with a permanent volleyball imprint would also be pretty amusing."

Rin's jaw dropped. "Y-You punk!" she yelled before launching herself at him.

"AGH!"

"Rin Kagamine! Five laps for misuse of the equipment!"

* * *

"Geez, did you really have to give him a bloody nose?"

"He was asking for it!"

Meiko shook her head at the younger girl but laughed nonetheless. School had just ended a few minutes ago and both girls were retrieving their shoes.

"So how're things with you and Len?"

Rin tripped over an invisible step on the ground, "What are you talking about? Everything's normal as always."

"You can't lie to me, Rinny-poo. I know something's up. Besides, a week ago you called me asking for ways to avoid him, remember?"

"Oh, right…"

"So?" the brunette hooked an arm around her friend's neck, "What's up?"

"I don't really know, Meiko," Rin fiddled anxiously with the hem of her skirt, "I think I might be… I mean, I'm not sure, but… d-do we really have to talk about this?"

"You might feel something stronger for Len?"

"Wha…?" turquoise eyes widened, "How did you know? I mean, not that I'm agreeing with you or any-"

"It's alright. I think you're just a little confused right now, squirt," Meiko grinned and winked, "After all, he's basically the only boy you've known for pretty much these past 5 years, so it's pretty natural you'd be a little jealous, especially since your hormones and stuff are maturing now."

"I'm not jealous!"

Meiko laughed again and released the younger girl. "You know the first step to getting out of denial is accepting that you're in denial, right?"

"I'm not in- oh... You can't trick me!"

Meiko smirked and stretched her arms towards the ceiling, "Tell you what, kid, why don't you start letting yourself fall in love?"

"H-Huh?" Did Meiko, over-protective older sister Meiko, just say what Rin thought she said?

"Yup, you heard me. Try and get a boyfriend, and then compare your feelings from there," she stated again, "If what you feel for Len really is stemmed from a fear of being alone, then when you get a boyfriend those anxieties should go away, right? Since he'd be giving you the same sense of security you get from Len… But if you still constantly think only of Len even with a boyfriend, then you'll know."

Rin struggled to find the proper words.

"Well... what if… what if it turns out I really do love Len but he doesn't love me back?"

At this Meiko stopped and sighed. Rin could have sworn Meiko had a sad look on her face just now, "Then what can you do except move on? Even if he doesn't love you at least you'll have the closure of knowing what your true feelings were, and you can always still be there whenever he needs you."

Something told Rin that her friend was speaking from personal experience. "Meiko…?"

"What're we doing just standing here? The guys are waiting for us!"

Rin squeaked when Meiko yanked her by the arm and hurried down the steps. At the bottom, they saw a familiar azure-haired boy sprawled out on the floor next to a beautiful, blonde girl who Rin had never seen before.

"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to bump into you!" Kaito sputtered, a vivid crimson splayed over his cheeks, "Let me help you with that! Ack!"

The girl sweat dropped at his actions and began picking up nearby papers and books. "It's ok, Kaito. I'm alright, really."

"S-Sorry again, Lily! Please forgive me!"

"Lily?" Rin asked. Who was that? And also, why was Kaito so flustered? She had never seen him so nervous before.

"Lily's a new girl who moved here last year," Meiko explained. Rin was stunned at how quiet the usually brash brunette was. Looking up, she noticed that Meiko had her head down, bangs shadowing her face.

"You can stop apologizing now," Lily quirked an eyebrow at the boy and slowly pried herself from his presence, "Just relax. I'll see you around, k?" She flashed him a smile before departing.

"Bye! Sorry aga-ERR, I mean, sorry for apologizing! Ack! Man, I'm such an idiot..."

"Geez Kaito, could you be any more obvious?"

"M-Meiko!" the blue-haired teen looked up to see his childhood friend looking down at him, hands on her hips and foot tapping impatiently. "I was just- she, err, we bumped into each other! Well it was more my fault, but-!"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to explain anything," Meiko sighed and hoisted him to his feet, "How're you supposed to make Lily think you're cool if you keep acting like that? Pull yourself together, man!"

Oh. Rin understood now.

_"Even if he doesn't love you at least you'll have the closure of knowing what your true feelings were, and you can always still be there whenever he needs you."_

Rin bit her lip and cast her gaze downwards. She had no idea that was how things were between them. She had always somewhat presumed that there was an unspoken attraction between the two, but not once did she think Kaito would have been interested in someone else, especially since he had Meiko waiting for him. Maybe this is what she meant by falling in love with someone else?"

"You even got your scarf dirty," Meiko huffed as she brushed the long strip of cloth.

"Heh, sorry Meiko. What would I do without you?"

At that, Meiko blushed and looked away, "I-Idiot! Try harder next time!"

Rin's heart fell. To be able to encourage him to love someone else and then still have enough courage to remain by his side... Meiko was really something.

"Rin! Sorry, I got caught up with club activities," Len called as he ran to meet them, "Hope you weren't waiting long?"

For a minute, the blonde haired girl said nothing and studied Len with an unreadable expression. "No," she shook her head and smiled, "Let's go home now."

Len grinned and followed along.

As they bid goodbye to their two older friends and left the school gates, the conversation with Meiko kept playing over and over in Rin's head. Her suggestion seemed reasonable, but Rin still felt apprehensive about trying it. Why? She didn't really know. Maybe she was afraid of rejection, or maybe she was afraid of herself...?

Well, one thing was for certain: whatever the outcome, Rin hoped she could still remain as strong as Meiko.

* * *

The streets were almost all but empty as vendors began closing their stands for the day and pedestrians scurried to return to the safety of their homes before night fell. By day, the streets of Crypton were vibrant and teeming with life; by night, however, the city took on a completely difference facade. Instead, it became a haven for the depraved. Criminals, peddlers of a different sort, and all sorts of beings who dared not bare their face to the light of day revealed themselves during the night.

An elderly vendor had just finished locking the door of his shop when he spotted a boy walking alone, hands in his pockets and teal-haired head directed at the ground. The vendor squinted and scratched his head. He recognized the uniform the boy wore as the one belonging to the nearby high school, but not once during his fifty-some-odd years of living in Crypton did he ever see such a youth before. Perhaps the boy was new to town and unaware of the dangers night posed.

"Say, kid, you best be getting home now. These streets-" the vendor suddenly found himself at a loss for words when the boy glanced up at him. His eyes... they were so cold, as if trying to pierce directly into one's soul.

Mikuo smiled brightly at the elderly man, "I'm sorry sir, I was just on my way home. You don't need to worry about me."

"A-Ah..." the man gave a shaky nod as Mikuo bowed and continued down the street. Once he was out of earshot the man leaned against his booth and clutched at his heart. What was that deadly aura he felt just now? Exactly who was that boy, and why was his gaze so dark? Deciding not to think on it any longer, the man quickly pulled down his hat and shuffled down the street.

Mikuo, on the other hand, paid the older man's warning no attention as he continued on his path. He was intending to head home, but not at he moment, for he could sense that he was being followed, and there was no way that he'd let whoever was following him know where he lived. A few carefully calculated turns later and his suspicions were confirmed.

He stopped in the middle of a secluded alley, "There's no use in trying to be discreet," Mikuo announced to the darkness, "I know you're there, Miku."

Instantly, a shadow from above leapt down before him, lengthy teal pigtails trailing behind her like ribbons. With all the grace of a cat, she slowly lifted herself and met her brother's dark gaze with a piercing one of her own. Not a trace of good intention was present on her face.

"Well, well," Mikuo smirked Isn't this nice? Two siblings reunited after such an extended separation?"

Miku refused to extend the same hospitality. Her viridian eyes narrowed dangerously at him, "Cut the bull crap, Mikuo. You were the one who left us. Why are you here?"

"I have my reasons."

Scarcely had the words left his lips did a blade come speeding straight towards his skull. Mikuo's grin widened as he deftly caught the weapon between his index and middle fingers. Before him Miku stood in a battle stance, teeth bared and fingers dancing readily about a holster tied to her leg and concealed by the right side of her skirt.

"I told you to cut the bull crap. What are you planning?"

"I can't want to be close to my family again?" Mikuo frowned and threw the weapon back at his sister, who caught it with the same agility, "Or, well, what's left of it at least. Speaking of which, how is Haku doing?"

"Answer my question!"

This time more than one blade came flying at him. The boy expertly dodged each knife save for one, which barely grazed the skin of his cheek and sliced off a few strands of hair.

"Tch," Mikuo frowned, "Why are you getting so riled up for, dear sister? And, if you really must have an answer," he said as he bent to pick up the fallen weapons, "I think you already know why I'm here."

Miku's eyes widened. "Y-You... Stay away from the Kagamines!"

Mikuo's grin only continued to widen, "Bingo."

Immediately, Miku rushed forward, fist poised and ready to strike. Mikuo rolled out of the way at the last moment, allowing her fist to connect with the hard earth and leave a decent-sized crater in its wake. Recovering quickly from the aftershock, the older girl whirled around with a roundhouse kick which Mikuo managed to avoid with a jump. Miku used this opportunity to reach into the holster on her right leg and withdraw a gun.

Mikuo growled. Something told him that wasn't a regular gun. And right on cue, Miku fired, barely giving him time to dodge it. Mikuo's eyes narrowed as long, electric sparks instead of bullets were released from the barrel. "A taser gun, eh?"

Miku fired a second time; this time successfully hitting her target. Mikuo hissed as a surge of electric shocks ripped through his body and caused his nerves to go haywire. Miku watched as her brother fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, growling and hissing in pain.

"I don't know what you're planning," she said as she stepped towards him, gun still poised just in case he decided to try anything, "But now Haku and I are trying to atone for father's mistakes, and I swear, if you so much as lay a finger on them I-AGH!"

She was suddenly cut short when she found herself pinned to the alley wall by the very same blades she had thrown at Mikuo earlier. She grit her teeth. He had hid them and was waiting for the opportune moment to catch her off guard!

"You'll do what, kill me? Tch," Mikuo scoffed as he stood and began walking in the opposite direction, "First off, it'll take more than a measly taser gun to bring me down. And second, that fool you consider our father deserved to get himself caught and thrown in prison... but I, on the other hand, won't repeat the same mistakes."

"C-Come back here! Mikuo!" Miku struggled against her restraints, growing more frustrated with each passing second.

"Haku will probably come looking for you in a few hours," Mikuo nonchalantly waved a hand behind him, "And she'll set you free then. But... word of warning to you two: if you come at me again, I also will not hesitate to take action against either should you two interfere with my plans... Next time, I will show no mercy. Keep that in mind."

"MIKUO!" Miku screamed at his retreating figure, but the boy was already gone.

* * *

**Super** duper long chapter, woo! I feel like I'm making Rin too mean... poor Len. But things'll get better soon, I promise! Also, for some odd reason, I have this irrational love for Mikuo ;u;. He's just so irresistibly adorable! Except here I kind of made him into a deceptive little bastard... but he's still a cutie pie! Don't you agree? WHAT. AGREE WITH ME NOW. I DEMANDS IT Dx! AND A REVIEW TOO! No lol jk ;u;… well, not about the review part hehe.


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